Co-owner of South Memphis gas station burglarized by large crowd plans to move out of state

MEMPHIS, Tenn — Following a robbery by at least 40 thieves and $15,000-$20,000 in stolen merchandise and damages, an owner of the Fill N Go on Third Street spoke out about the horrifying minutes before police arrived.

Salah Hudaieb, the co-owner who has worked at the gas station for years, said the first time this happened, it was 2 to 30 cars, and the second time, about 50, 60 or 70 cars.

“I looked right at the door,” Hudaieb said. “It was like groups of people kept coming in. I jumped through the door, tried to slam the door and shut it just to keep it minimized as much as we can, but there were too many people.”

Hudaieb and one of the cooks did their best to move people out of the store. However, the thieves were armed, some with long guns and seemingly automatic weapons, the co-owner said.

“He got the barrel of the machine gun on me, so I was like, 'That’s it, I’m not doing anything. Just go inside, do whatever you want to do,'” Hudaieb said.

The cook didn’t want to speak on camera. He has seven kids at home and told the co-owner he was just trying to make it back home to them.

Hudaieb is so tired of the crime, he is moving out of the state.

“For the last three years, every Saturday between 6 and 8 o’clock [this happens],” Hudaieb said. “Big group every Sunday between 8 and 10 o’clock [too].”

It wasn’t until nearly all of the vehicles were gone that the Memphis Police Department arrived at the scene.

“When we used to call the police department back in 2013, within three minutes, the dispatch or police car will be available in the parking lot,” Hudaieb said. “Now, it takes them between 25 and 35 minutes to show up.”

The store was back up and running as usual on Monday, but the incident left the owners with more questions, especially for the city as to what it’s doing to intervene with the violence.