Video shows robber stomping on store clerk’s head, neck
Police hope release of images will help identify suspect in four similar incidents
Convenience store clerk Wishavdeep was going about his regular duties Jan. 7, when a man came into the Mac’s Convenience Store at 4100 Marlborough Drive N.E., jumped over the counter and pointed a knife at him.
The clerk, who goes by the single name, said he followed the man’s demands to open the till and lie on the floor.
What he didn’t expect next were blows to the back of his head and neck. He doesn’t remember much between the two terrifying minutes the thief was in the store to when he found himself in the back of an ambulance, after a customer came in, saw blood on the clerk’s face and called police.
Wishavdeep said he has not been able to return to the store since the attack.
“I’m scared now,” he said. “I don’t want to go there.”
The clerk shared his story as police once again appealed to the public Thursday for information about the robber, who they believe may be linked to four other convenience store robberies dating to May 2017. A similar plea made Jan. 11 did not lead to any tips.
Insp. Joe Brar with the Calgary police investigative operations section said in all of the five cases, the clerks were ordered to lie on the floor and the culprit then stomped on the person’s neck or head area.
Brar described the attacks as uncommon and “shocking.”
“When the victim is attacked in these types of incidents, it’s usually when they’re trying to prevent the person from escaping,” he told reporters.
“If you’ve watched the video in this case, you can see that this clerk did nothing to provoke this attack.”
The CCTV video showing the Jan. 7 incident, which took place just before 11 p.m., was released by police along with the appeal for information.
The other four incidents police believe are linked took place May 20 around 1:45 a.m. at a Mac’s Convenience Store at 3735 Rundlehorn Drive N.E., July 24 around 4:30 a.m. at the Mac’s at 2905 14th Street S.W., Nov. 7 around 3:30 a.m. at the 7-Eleven at 146-920 36th Street N.E., and Dec. 6 around 3:30 a.m. at the Mac’s Convenience Store at 2905 14th Street S.W.
Brar said injuries sustained by the clerks ranged from minor headaches to serious concussions.
“Our goal is to locate and hold this person responsible and prevent anything further from happening,” he said.
“As you can see from the video, it’s very serious and we’re fearful that the next person may be injured even more severely.”
The robber is described as male, between 20 and 30 years old, about 5-foot-10 to six-feet tall, with a slim build. Police say he is often described as wearing gloves, a black zip-up hooded sweatshirt with the hood up, along with a scarf or mask covering the lower half of his face.
Wishavdeep said he’s hoping police find his attacker so no one else has to experience what he did.
“The only thing I want (is for) police to catch the person, so it does not happen with another person,” he said.
Anyone with information is asked to contact police or Crime Stoppers.