‘Bangladeshi’ shot dead in Los Angeles robbery

A Bangladeshi youth was shot dead during a robbery at a gas station in Los Angeles on Tuesday.

The deceased was identified as Mizanur Rahman, 30, of Shibganj upazila in Chapainawabganj. He was a MBA student and working as an attendant at Chevron Gas Station there, reports our Rajshahi correspondent.

A man entered the gas station at the intersection of Vermont St and Los Feliz and purchased an item around 3:30am, said LAPD Detective Meghan Aguilar, reports Los Angeles Times.

The man later returned to the counter, produced a handgun and demanded money, she said.

“The clerk [Mizanur Rahman] was cooperating when the man shot him,” Aguilar said. The gunman then reached over the counter and grabbed the entire cash drawer and ran, she added.

The suspect fled in a light-colored car. The wounded clerk was able to call 911 and was rushed to the hospital, where he died from his injuries.

The filling station remained closed for much of the day Tuesday as detectives and crime scene technicians combed the scene for clues. Forensic experts were also preparing to examine video from 32 surveillance cameras.

Retired school teacher Abdur Rafiq, the victim’s father, said Mizanur’s dream was to get a US degree, expected to return home in December this year.

“I cannot believe he is no more now…,” he told The Daily Star by phone, crying.

After completing his BBA at the East West University in Dhaka, he went to the US to do his MBA with scholarship in 2014.

Co-workers said Mizanur worked overnight shift to earn money for his family and put himself through graduate school, LA Times reported.

“It is shocking,” said Benoit Hecquet, who lives near the Chevron gas station.

“He was always polite, talkative. And he even asked about how my son was doing,” said Hecquet, who said he would sometimes buy cigarettes at the station.

"I am sure scenarios like this might happen, but I am heartbroken," Mizanur’s co-worker Carlos Francisco said.

"He was a dreamer. Work by night, study by day to make himself better."

Abdur Rafiq, father of a son and a daughter, said Mizanur’s mother was not yet communicated about the incident.

“We want justice. We want his body back home soon.”