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Julian Faulkner, inset, allegedly beat a gas station store clerk to death with a hammer on Jan. 16, 2024 in DeKalb County, Georgia. Faulkner allegedly hit the clerk 50 times. (Mug shot: DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office; Gas station: Google Maps)
A man allegedly beat a store clerk who had been helping him to death with a hammer in a heinous attack at a Georgia gas station.
Officers from the DeKalb County Police Department responded to an assault call around 12:20 a.m. Tuesday at a Chevron gas station in the 3300 block of Snapfinger Road. When cops arrived, they found the suspect, later identified as 53-year-old Julian Faulkner, holding a hammer and standing over the victim. Police ordered Faulkner to drop the hammer who placed it on a nearby table. He was then taken into custody. Faulkner also had two knives and an additional hammer on his person, police said.
The victim, 25-year-old Vivek Saini, suffered from “severe head trauma.” Paramedics pronounced Saini dead at the scene.
“There was a substantial amount of blood splatter and brain tissues scattered on the ground,” the police incident report said.
Cops found a witness, who was another store clerk, hiding in the back of the booth “visibly shaken, and could hardly speak due to fear.”
The witness gave officers access to surveillance cameras which allegedly showed Faulkner striking Saini’s “skull with a hammer several times.” The witness called 911 during the attack.
Citing an arrest affidavit, Atlanta ABC affiliate WSB reported store clerks had been allowing Faulkner, who is homeless, to come into the store because it was cold. They gave him chips, soda and water. But after two days, Faulkner apparently outlasted his welcome and Saini told him it was time to leave. When Saini left the store to go home, Faulkner attacked him with a hammer, striking him about 50 times on the face and head, the affidavit reportedly said.
Detectives tried to interview Faulkner at the police station, but he declined to speak with them. Faulkner is facing a murder charge and is being held at the DeKalb County Jail without bond.
