A New Jersey gas station employee fought back during an armed robbery attempt, as video shows him using a squeegee to fend off the suspect during an attack that may have been part of a crime spree.
Attendant Kuljit Singh said the violence started after a man asked for a cigarette at the gas station off Broad Street in Clifton. Soon after, the man pulled out a gun.
In surveillance video obtained exclusively by NBC New York, Singh grabs the squeegee as he tried to get away from the gun-toting attacker. He repeatedly swung the cleaning item at the armed man, hitting him a number of times as the worker made his way inside the station.
"He pulled out the gun, so he ran and came in here and he was yelling my name," said station manager Patrick Doherty. "When I came out I saw the guy walking toward him with a pistol, I saw the pistol in his hand, so I backed up and called 911."
Singh was able to keep the suspect from opening the door and carrying out the rest of the robbery — and even got the last hit in. Video showed the suspect leaving in his car, but not before Singh used the squeegee to give the car's windshield a good whack as he drove off empty-handed.
"The guy walks back to his car, ready to leave, and [Singh's] holding a squeegee and he smacked the windshield — and broke it!" said Doherty.
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Just minutes before, there was a similar attack at a gas station in Hasbrouck Heights. Surveillance video in that incident showed a black Dodge pull into a Valero parking lot. As the attendant is close by, a man gets out and starts attacking, chasing after the worker moments later. He then got in his car and peeled away.
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Tahar Rahman was working at the time and said the attendant was pistol-whipped and robbed of cash, but otherwise was OK.
"When he saw the money, he tried to snatch and grab. And first he hit him when he came out of the car, my guy was scared and he ran," said Rahman.
Police in Paterson are also investigating an armed robbery at a convenience store by a suspect in a similar car, all of which occurred within a few hours of each other. Surveillance video from the store robbery showed an armed man snatching hundreds of dollars from a cash register. Witnesses said he matches the description from the other attacks, blue gloves and all.
Anyone with information regarding the incidents is asked to contact police.
