The brave actions of a victim, police and shoppers outside the Hobby Lobby on Ga. Highway 138 helped fend off an armed kidnapper and potentially saved the lives of a Conyers woman and her grandchild Wednesday afternoon.
The suspect, who gave a name of Musa Muhammad Abdul Alkarim, is behind bars at Rockdale County jail and charged with two counts of kidnapping, aggravated assault, and armed robbery.
The victim, a 62-year-old small framed woman, had just finished putting her 9-month-old grandchild into the back seat of her car around 4 p.m. She was parked just three spots down from the Hobby Lobby entrance.
As she was getting into the driver’s seat, the 28-year-old male suspect ran up on the passenger side wielding a butcher knife, jumped in the car and put the knife to her throat.
Police Chief Gene Wilson said the suspect did not demand the woman’s purse, which was on the passenger side. Instead, he ordered her to start the engine and drive away.
“She started screaming and screaming and screaming,” said Wilson. “She fought him off.”
“Her point was she had to protect the baby. She wasn’t going to let anything happen to the baby.”
According to reports, the suspect told her “You shouldn’t have done that!”
“She thought she was dead,” said CPD Lt. Jack Dunn. “She thought once she started fighting, he was going to stab her.”
In the struggle, the woman managed to knock the knife out of the suspect’s hand. People heard the commotion and starting coming toward the car.
The suspect decided to walk away, but not before taking the woman’s cell phone.
Witness Deborah Blair, who has worked at the nearby F&D Beauty Salon since 2005, was one of the first to reach the victim and comforted her until police could arrive.
“She was just frightened, terrified, scared to death he was going to come back. He told her he was going to kill her and she’d better not to say anything,” said Blair. “She was totally shook up.”
The suspect got into in a silver Nissan, which was rented that day, parked behind Burger King and headed south on Ga. Highway 138.
But another man who witnessed what happened was determined not to let the would-be kidnapper get away.
That good Samaritan, an Ellenwood man named Nharu Wright, quietly got into his own car, a white Escalade, and began to follow the suspect, calling 911 and describing to dispatchers the suspect’s vehicle and where it was headed.
The suspect turned into the McDonald’s at 138 and Flat Shoals and then proceeded to drive behind the Captain D’s and Sign-O-Rama where he abandoned the car.
The suspect reportedly ran behind the post office and the former Victorious Life church and police quickly cordoned off the area.
Conyers police had been holding a seminar at headquarters that day and when the call went out, about 10 to 15 extra officers and detectives responded to the scene.
Within 10 minutes of the incident, he was found and arrested at gunpoint by Det. Dwayne Jones and Sgt. Clay Ivey.
Investigators are still trying to verify the identity of the suspect, who gave at least two names to officers. One name was Musa Muhammad Abdul Alkarim with an address of Inman Street in Atlanta.
Alkarim reportedly has a history of violent crimes and is a convicted felon out of Fulton.
Wilson commented that it was unusual for something like this to happen in broad daylight in a crowded area. However, the suspect seemed prepared in other ways.
Wilson said, “I just don’t think this was his first time doing this.”
The suspect had on two pairs of pants, which would allow him to take off the outer pants to quickly change his clothing appearance.
In his pockets, police found rubber latex gloves and several sets of plastic zip wires already fashioned into hand-ties.
“Our thought is that he was going to kidnap the woman,” said Wilson.
The woman ended up with bruises on her arms was but was otherwise not seriously injured. The baby was also uninjured.
The police also praised the reaction of the residents at the scene, particularly Wright.
“The key is not the police response,” said Dunn. “The key is that the citizens got involved.”
Wright told police that he only saw there was a female who needed assistance.
“He thought of his mother and sister and all his female loved ones,” said Dunn. “He never thought about any danger. He felt the need to assist.”
Blair, the stylist at F&D Beauty Salon, said she had never see anything like that in the seven years she’s been working there.
“It was a scary situation but what are you going to do?” she said. “Are you going to sit there and look at it go down or are you going to help?
“We just chose to help. It could have been any one of us.”
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(March 21, 11:31 p.m.) The brave actions of a victim, police and shoppers outside the Hobby Lobby on Ga. Highway 138 helped fend off an armed kidnapper and potentially saved the lives of a Conyers woman and her grandchild Wednesday afternoon.
According to Conyers Police Chief Gene Wilson, around 4 p.m., the victim, a white middle aged woman, had just finished putting her 9-month-old grandchild into the back seat of her car, which was parked just three parking spots down from the Hobby Lobby entrance.
As she was getting into the car, a 28-year-old black male wielding a butcher knife ran up, grabbed the door, and put the knife to her throat.
The suspect did not demand the woman’s purse or belongings but instead was trying to push her into the car, said Wilson.
“She started screaming and screaming and screaming. She fought him off,” said Wilson. “She literally saved herself.”
“Her point was she had to protect the baby. She wasn’t going to let anything happen to the baby.”
People nearby heard the commotion and came out of their cars and shops to her aid.
The suspect left the woman and drove off in a rented silver Nissan headed south on Ga. Highway 138.
A witness and local resident, a black male, got into his Escalade to follow the suspect.
The good Samaritan called 911 and gave dispatchers descriptions of the suspect’s vehicle and where it was headed.
The suspect turned into the McDonald’s at Ga. Highway 138 and Flat Shoals and then proceeded to drive behind the Captain D’s and Sign-O-Rama where he abandoned the car.
The suspect reportedly ran behind the post office and the former Victorious Life church and police quickly cordoned off the area.
Within 10 minutes of the incident, he was found and arrested at gunpoint by Det. Dwayne Jones and Sgt. Clay Ivey.
Investigators are still trying to verify the identity of the suspect, who gave at least two names to officers. One name was Musa Muhammad Abdul Alkarim with an address of Inman Street in Atlanta.
Wilson commented that it was unusual for something like this to happen in broad daylight in a crowded area.
He said, “I just don’t think this was his first time doing this.”
The suspect had on two pairs of pants, which would allow him to take off the outer pants to quickly change his clothing appearance.
In his pockets, police found rubber latex gloves and several sets of plastic zip lines already fashioned into hand-ties. In the car, which was reportedly rented today, there were punch locks and tools.
“Our thought is that he was going to kidnap the woman,” said Wilson.
The woman ended up with bruises on her arms was but was otherwise not seriously injured.
“He picked a bad day to do that,” Wilson said.
Conyers police happened to be holding a seminar at police headquarters. When the call went out, about 10- 15 extra officers and detectives responded to the scene to conduct the search.
Wilson also praised the reaction of the other shoppers and the local resident who followed the suspect’s car and provided critical information that led police to capture the suspect.
“The other thing that was encouraging was the number of people that came out to help her, and the fact this one gentleman who jumped in his Escalade and followed the perpetrator.”
“This is exactly what we need,” he said, of the citizen involvement. “We’re not going to be able to do this all by ourselves.”
The suspect was booked into Rockdale County jail and charged with two counts of attempted kidnapping, armed robbery, and aggravated assault.
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IN BRIEF (March 21, 8:59 p.m.): The brave actions of nearby shoppers, police and a victim outside the Hobby Lobby on Ga. Highway 138 helped fend off an armed kidnapper and potentially saved the lives of a woman and her grandchild Wednesday afternoon. According to Conyers Police Chief Gene Wilson, a man held a butcher knife to a woman in the parking lot just outside Hobby Lobby in an attempt to take her, her 9-month-old grandchild in the back seat, and the car to another location. The woman screamed, fighting against him, and nearby shoppers rushed out of the stores to her aid. The suspect left the woman and tried to drive off in a silver car, but a local man followed him, giving descriptions to dispatchers along the way. The suspect abandoned his car behind the Sign-o-rama store on 138, fleeing on foot into the woods. Police pursued him and were able to catch and arrest him. Check back for more on this developing story.
