BoatBanter.com - View Single Post

jim78

wrote:
On Jun 3, 8:57 am, HK wrote:
NY store owner gives would-be thief $40 and bread
By FRANK ELTMAN, Associated Press Writer Frank Eltman, Associated Press
Writer 44 mins ago

GARDEN CITY, N.Y. – A rifle-toting convenience store owner said he
decided to show mercy on a would-be robber after seeing the man collapse
into tears and claim he was only committing the crime to support his
starving family.

The Long Island store owner provided the bat-wielding man with $40 and a
loaf of bread and made him promise never to rob again.

"This was a grown man, crying like a baby," Mohammad Sohail, owner of
the Shirley Express convenience store about 65 miles east of New York
City, told The Associated Press in a telephone interview on Tuesday.

The man dropped the bat, picked up the bread and tucked the $40 into his
waistband before fleeing, said Suffolk County police Sgt. John Best.

Sohail, who moved to the United States from Pakistan about 20 years ago,
said he was getting ready to close his store shortly after midnight on
May 21 when the man in his 40s entered with a bat in his hand. Sohail
said he tried to stall for a moment and then grabbed a rifle he keeps
behind the counter and ordered the assailant to drop the bat.

The would-be thief dropped to his knees and begged for forgiveness,
Sohail said.

"He started crying that he was out of work and was trying to feed his
hungry family," he said. "I felt bad for him. I mean, this wasn't some kid."

He said he tossed $40 to the man, who then stood up and told Sohail he
was inspired by the act of mercy and wanted to become a fellow Muslim.
Sohail said he led the man in a profession of Muslim faith and the two
ended up shaking hands.

Sohail said he went to the back of the store to get some milk to give to
the man, but when he returned the man had fled. He said he called police
and reported the attempted robbery, but he doesn't want to press charges
if the man is ever caught.

Best said detectives have reviewed a store surveillance video of the
attempted holdup, but said it would be difficult for anyone to identify
the suspect because he was wearing a mask.

Sohail, who said he had never been the victim of a robbery attempt, said
he didn't expect any accolades for what he had done.

"I'm a very little man. I just did a good job," said the married father
of one. "I have a good feeling in my heart. I feel very good."

- - -

Sohail really understands charity.

That's just great! The next time you're robbed at gun point, Harry,
reward the guy with $100 or something. That'll teach him a
lesson.......

I can't believe Krause posted that. Here's Krause's actual behavior
under similar circumstances. Krause arrives home to find an unknown
person wandering around his property. Without hesitation Krause jams the
poor fellow between his pickup and the fellows car, breaking both of his
legs. Tried, convicted, and punished right on the spot.