MEMPHIS, Tenn. – Two women tried to rob a Memphis convenience store Sunday evening, but failed when they realized the clerk was armed.
Farij Mabrouk said the women walked into the Belt Line Mart on Southern Avenue around 7 p.m. and demanded to use the phone.
“I told them no, she say, ‘No, I’m gonna use the phone you like it or not,’” Mabrouk said.
That’s when one of the women pulled out a gun. The other woman was armed with a knife, which Mabrouk said left a cut on his cheek.
Mabrouk believes the knife-wielding suspect was only 13 years old, although police have estimated both women were in their early 20s.
When the suspects reached for the cash register, Mabrouk says he pointed to his own gun.
“I make her nervous when she sees a gun on me, I guess, and she drops the gun and she dropped the bullets and she trying to put it back again together,” he said.
The women ran from the store with Mabrouk close behind, but both managed to get away.
“In Africa, I have been almost naked, no shoes on, like, real poverty, but I have never thought about to commit a crime,” said manager Kallow Kodi.
A sign outside the Belt Line Mart advertises cold beer and cold cuts. But if you plan to steal, store employees say you can expect a cold dose of reality.
“I hope they ain’t gonna show up tonight. If they show up with a gun tonight, I’m sorry, I don’t have no mercy for them no more,” Mabrouk said.
