HOUSTON – A gas station clerk said a man smashed the store’s windows with his bare hands after being told no customers could come inside the store after hours.
The clerk, Ahmed Najeeb, 52, said he is still shaken by the attack that occurred around 4 a.m. in October 2019.
The suspect, identified as Anthony Love, 40, has been charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, according to the Houston Police Department. Love has a long arrest record that includes theft and drug possession convictions.
Love remains at large.
“Problem is I’m scared,” Najeeb said. “I supposed he’d kill me.”
Najeeb works the graveyard shift at a Gulf gas station at 9101 Clinton Drive, near the Houston Ship Channel.
The store remains open around the clock, but the door is locked after 11 p.m. for safety. Customers are required to do business through a small window near the cash register. That is what Najeeb said he was trying to explain to Love before the late-night attack began.
Najeeb said Love insisted on being allowed into the store. When he explained he couldn’t let him in, the would-be customer lashed out violently, he said.
Love reportedly smashed his fist through the glass window as they spoke, cutting Najeeb’s eye and grinding glass into his cheek.
The surveillance cameras inside the store show Love breaking through the front door while threatening to kill Najeeb at the same time.
The incident put Najeeb in the hospital and caused $2,000 dollars in damage to his store.
Najeeb said he will feel safer once Love is behind bars.
“I don’t know what happened, what problem with him,” he said. “I was surprised. I was very surprised."