COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Two days after Christmas, an armed robbery suspect shot a local merchant, sending a community into outrage.
According to police, on Dec. 27 at about 5 p.m. an armed man entered the Clintonville Market, with the apparent motive of robbery, NBC 4's Mike Jackson reported.
But the man waved his gun around, pointing the weapon at customers before shooting the clerk, 73-year-old Faiq Haboul, known throughout the community as Mo.
"For some reason, apparently the clerk didn't move fast enough for the robber and the robber shot him in the upper body then fled," said Columbus Police Det. Gerald Milner.
The bullet traveled to the victim's spine, leaving him paralyzed from the waist down.
The shooting shocked and upset the community, and after the robbery, customers chased the suspect as he was making his getaway.
"I'm pretty sure the suspect was unaware of how popular this employee of the market is to the community and as well it doesn't seem like it was well planned to go into a store to have to basically threaten other individuals and customers in the store and to shoot the clerk before he got the money. (It) seems things fell apart real fast," Milner said.
The suspect is described as a black man in his early 20s, about 6 feet tall weighing 170 pounds. His hair was in a short pony tail, he had pierced ears and wore a blue bandana over part of his face with a blue hooded sweatshirt.
The suspect left in a 1980s Ford Escort-type of vehicle with a loud muffler, broken driver's side window with plastic covering a camouflage pattern.
Central Ohio Crime Stoppers is offering a cash reward for tips that lead to the man's arrest and/or conviction. All callers can remain anonymous.
Anyone with information is asked to call 614-645-TIPS.
Stay with NBC 4 and refresh nbc4i.com for additional information.
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