Fishtown Store Clerk Shot And Killed During Robbery
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Police believe a language barrier and lack of understanding of robbery demands may have been a contributing factor in a homicide at a Fishtown convenience store early Thursday morning.
Two armed bandits walked into the Trax Food market, adjacent to the Market-Frankford elevated station at Front and Girard, just before 3 a.m. and demanded money. Police say when the clerk behind the counter didn't respond, the suspects shot him.
Police believe the 50-year-old clerk, identified as Mustafa Shakur, spoke very little English and may not have understood the robber's demands. He was pronounced dead at the scene by medics.
"It was vicious and they didn't get a dime from it. It was just senseless," Capt. James Clark said.
Neighbors were shocked to hear about what happened to the clerk.
"Yeah, I used to come in there all the time," said Mike (no last name given), "and yeah, he was always very friendly. If you needed a couple of dollars, he would give it to you. It's a shame, because I know he had a family."
One woman, Arthurene (no last name given), was furious.
"I'm so sad that that man got shot for something so stupid -- because that person didn't want to make an honest dollar on his own," she said. "There's too many things that you can do to make an honest dollar. Why he did he have to shoot that man?"
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Shakur was a married father of two teenagers who has been working the midnight shift at the store for the last eight months to support his family.
The suspects, described as black males in their 20s, wearing blue jeans and hoodies, fled the scene. When the killers were caught on camera police noticed two distinctive items they were wearing that could help identify them.
One had on a black and white baseball cap with Armani written on it. The other had a black faced wrist watch with a red or pink ban
The owner of the store is offering a $1,000 reward for information leading to the arrests and convictions of the two suspects.
Anyone with information on this crime is urged to contact Philadelphia police.
Reported by Al Novack and Michelle Durham, KYW Newsradio; Todd Quinones, CBS 3
