A quick-thinking gas station attendant in Michigan became a hero after noticing a distressed 16-year-old girl silently pleading for help. The young girl, who had been kidnapped, caught the employee’s attention by mouthing the word “help,” according to police reports.
The incident unfolded on the morning of April 13 in Hamtramck. As the teenager waited at her bus stop, Donald Fields allegedly approached her, threatening her with a concealed object and forcing her into a van at gunpoint, stated Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy.
Another student from Frontier International Academy witnessed the abduction and quickly called 911 as Fields drove away with the victim, prosecutors noted.
Authorities revealed that Fields, aged 48, is accused of sexually assaulting the young girl inside the van. He later stopped at a gas station, where he escorted her into the store, according to officials.
Meanwhile, Hamtramck police officers began their search at the girl’s school. They soon learned of her whereabouts after several classmates used their phones to trace her location to the gas station.
Police responded swiftly, coordinating with other units to converge on the scene. There, they apprehended Fields as he exited the store, while the courageous clerk safeguarded the girl until help arrived.
Abdulrahman Abohatem was behind the counter that morning when Fields and the girl entered the store as the suspect asked the minor to purchase cigarettes for him, police said.
‘When he ask her to pay for the cigarettes, I stop and go there’s something wrong. And she mouthed to me, like with no sound, “help”,’ Abohatem told WXYZ-TV.
Donald Fields (pictured), 48, was arrested on April 13 after he allegedly kidnapped a 16-year-old girl while she stood at her bus stop around 7am that morning
After allegedly snatching her away, Fields threw the girl in a van, where police believe he sexually assaulted her. He and the victim then made their way inside a gas station convenience store, where the clerk, Abdulrahman Abohatem (pictured), knew something was wrong immediately
He then came out from behind the protective glass, confronted Fields, and brought the girl to safety.
‘I go out, I kick him out, I ask the girl go behind me,’ he explained before adding: ‘I feel good when you save somebody. Sixteen years old – she is [a] child.’
Police bodycam footage captured the moment officers pulled up to the gas station and arrested Fields.
He was seen walking out of the store by himself when officers told him to put his hands behind his back.
They then brought him over to the hood of a patrol car and latched the handcuffs on his wrists.
Fields then showed officers where his car, a BMW SUV, was parked by the gas pumps and was told he was being detained.
Fields responded: ‘For what?’
‘I’ll tell you in a second,’ a male officer replied as two others walked into the store.
Officers with the Hamtramck Police Department then rushed to the gas station and arrested Fields, who has a history of sexual assault charges, Hamtramck Mayor Adam Alharbi said
Chilling surveillance footage also captured the moment Fields allegedly took the girl and forced her into his car. He is seen at the top of the image, rushing toward the girl
Other chilling footage captured the moment Fields allegedly snagged the girl at the bus stop.
The police department blurred out the girl in the clip, but in the very beginning, a man, who appeared to be Fields, grabbed her.
He then sped away in the car as the other girl came running before calling the police.
Fields was charged with two counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct, kidnapping, one count of felonious assault, and three counts of felony firearm.
He was also charged with one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm because he has a criminal history of sexual assault charges, Hamtramck Mayor Adam Alharbi said on Thursday.
He entered a not guilty plea during his arraignment and is being held without bond.
Fields is scheduled to appear in court next on April 30 at 9am. If convicted as charged, he could spend the rest of his life behind bars.
Fields was charged with two counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct, kidnapping, one count of felonious assault, three counts of felony firearm, and one count of a felon in possession of a firearm
Meanwhile, the teenage victim is back home safe with her family, who are beyond thankful that Abohatem stepped in to save her from further harm.
The prosecutor’s office commended the young girl for her fast thinking during such a terrifying situation.
‘Our young survivor in this case was simply walking in broad daylight when she was viciously attacked and sexually assaulted,’ Worthy said.
‘Despite what she had just gone through, her quick thinking and mental toughness saved her life. We cannot reverse what happened to her, but we can work hard to bring justice to he.’
