FALL RIVER, MASS. (WHDH) - Fall River police are turning to the public for help identifying a would-be armed robber who threatened a gas station clerk with a knife on Wednesday before being fought off with a chair.
Officers responding to a reported armed robbery at the Shell gas station on Plymouth Avenue about 5 a.m. spoke with the clerk, Kenny Smith, who said a black man wearing a black jacket with a blue hoodie underneath had just entered the store, threatened him with a knife, and fled with cigarettes, according to Fall River police.
Surveillance video released by police on Thursday shows the Smith fighting off the man with his chair.
“He knocked the phone, the store phone, out of my hand so then I grabbed the chair,” Smith recalled. “He kept telling me to open the drawer and then he just reached up and started grabbing the cigarettes.”
Minah Salih, the manager of the gas station, said he is worried about the safety of his employee.
Salih and Smith say they do not recognize the man but they were able to get a clear shot of his face on surveillance camera.
Anyone with information is asked to call Fall River Det. Luis Vertentes at 508-676-8511 ext. 260.
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