Knife-wielding man demands shopkeeper streams his armed robbery on Facebook
'He threatened that he was going to kill me if I didn’t put him on Facebook'
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.A man is facing jail after forcing his own hostage to stream his armed robbery live on Facebook.
Rasheem Harrison pulled out a large knife in an New York convenience store and asked shopkeeper Abdul “AK” Aziz to film and live stream him because of “what I got in my hand”.
Charismatic Mr Abdul is a minor local celebrity in Staten Island and posts video blogs on his Facebook page, which boasts more than 6,500 followers.
“He could do something dangerous so I was nervous. At the same time, I was in fear for my life,” said Mr Abdul, originally from Yemen. “He threatened that he was going to kill me if I didn’t put him on Facebook.”
In the video, Mr Harrison appears to say something about wanting to find someone, before grabbing an ice cream cone and refusing to pay for it.
While waving the blade, Mr Harrison seems to say in the video: “I’m gonna eat it whether you like it or not, right or wrong, and you can take it how you want to ‘cos by the end of the day what I got in my hand.”
The suspect stormed out after several nervous minutes but was reportedly arrested around 30 minutes later.
“I felt like I was a hostage inside my own place so I put him on Facebook,” said Mr Abdul, speaking to CBS New York.
“I’m not letting none of these wannabe thugs, wannabe hustlers ruin my life or stop me from making my money to feed my family and I know God is with me.”
Mr Harrison is facing multiple charges, including armed robbery, menacing and weapons possession, and the video is reportedly being used as evidence.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments