Make wishtv.com your home page

Fishers gas station clerk points firearm at cigar-theft suspect, police say

FISHERS, Ind. (WISH) — An incident at gas station in Fishers ended with police arresting two men, the store clerk and the suspect.

It happened early Tuesday morning at the BP near 131st Street and State Road 37.

The investigation began when police received a call for a theft at the gas station. During the investigation, police learned the store clerk followed the suspect to his car and pointed his gun at the suspect, so they arrested the clerk on two charges.

Police identified the store clerk as 31-year-old Ahmad Al-Rafie. He was booked into jail for intimidation with a firearm and for pointing a firearm at another person for what police believe happened inside this gas station.

Police accused the suspect 23-year-old Steven Robinson of stealing a cigar from the gas station. He walked out of the store and went to his car and that’s where police said he was followed by the store clerk. Police believe the store clerk pointed his gun at the suspect to scare him.

“Since we opened, we focus on gun safety. That’s our number one attribute here,” said Don Perkins, owner of BareArms Firearms in Noblesville.

24-Hour News 8 talked with Perkins about gun safety. He believes there is a right way and a wrong way to handle a gun.

“We absolutely believe there is and we teach our philosophy here all of our trainers. We train several hundred people a year,” Perkins said.

According to Perkins, it all comes down to safety.

“It begins and ends with a proper loading, it begins and ends with a proper handling, it begins and ends about how to point a gun, where to point a gun, how to properly control and how to properly take care of it,” Perkins explained.

Perkins said he’s been seeing more and more customers looking to get a gun as a form of protection.

“I’m repeating what our customers tell us and the way that society has become that they want to focus and protect themselves from the elements in society today,” he said. “They want to protect their life they want to protect their goods, they want to protect their home and their family so in doing so they want to learn the right way to do that.”

As for the suspect, police said he was already gone by the time they got to the gas station. They found him driving south on State Road 37. Robinson was also arrested and booked on charges of theft and driving while suspended.

Police said the store clerk did not shoot at the suspect and no one was injured.

Both remain in the Hamilton County Jail, according to online records as of Tuesday night.

Never miss another Facebook post from WISH-TV

Crime Map
Use Search Bars Above To Search Crime Data