RIYADH, 13 November 2007 — Four locals, all in their 20s, were arrested by police for threatening a storekeeper with a machine gun, stealing money from his cash register and then stabbing him before fleeing.
Police said that they received an emergency call from the storekeeper — whose nationality and age has not been specified — saying that he had been stabbed and robbed by four unidentified Saudis. The man said the four young men, who arrived in a car, first demanded that the cash registry be emptied. When the shopkeeper refused, one of the youths fired in the air to scare him.
The gang then stole money from the cash register; one member of the gang also stole the man’s cell phone, while a third collected 600 prepaid phone cards from a cabinet. Finally, as they were leaving, one of the men stabbed the shopkeeper before getting into a car.
Police were able to arrest one of the suspects who had fled to the neighboring Qassim region. “One of the four suspects was located in Qassim with the cooperation of the Qassim police,” a spokesman for Riyadh police said.
Police raided the man’s hideout and found some of the stolen items. During questioning, the man confessed to complicity in the robbery. He also revealed the whereabouts of his three accomplices. All four suspects are now in police custody.
Riyadh police said on Saturday that they had arrested four Saudis aged between 19 and 30 for attacking another expatriate storekeeper and firing a fire extinguisher at him in a desperate attempt to steal money from a cash till.
Police said they had received a phone call from the victim, who also described one of his attackers and the gang’s getaway car.
They then launched a manhunt for the suspects. Three of the four men were spotted in the suspected vehicle close to the location of the crime by a patrol team. According to the police, two of the men were arrested, while the third, who fled on foot was picked up by a car, which then sped away.
After a long chase, officers stopped the vehicle and arrested the two occupants. Bottles of locally brewed liquor were found inside the car.
The four men remain in police custody pending an investigation.
