Boston Police have arrested the man who shot a Bangladeshi shopkeeper in the head during a robbery in the city’s Roxbury (Massachusetts, USA) neighborhood last month. Boston police arrested Stephon Samuel, 25, on Friday, local time, three weeks after the ongoing movement of expatriate Bangladeshis in Boston. Arrested Stephon was charged with armed robbery by means of a firearm, armed assault with intent to murder, unlawful possession of a firearm, unlawful possession of ammunition and armed career criminal level 1, according to Boston Police.
Samuel was in custody at the Plymouth County House of Corrections on unrelated charges, police said. Police said Samuel’s arrest follows an investigation by the Boston Police homicide unit, the Forensics unit in combination with the Brockton Police Department and the FBI Boston Violent Crimes Task Force.
Tanjim Siam, 25, was critically injured during an armed robbery at the M&R Store on Shawmut Avenue in the city’s Roxbury neighborhood last month. Siam emigrated to the United States from Bangladesh earlier this year in the hopes of bettering his life and the lives of his family members.
On July 14, Siam was shot in the head during an armed robbery. Despite complying with robber’s demands, the suspect shot Siam in the head. The case remains unsolved.
Siam remains in the hospital, on life support following the shooting. Special prayers were offered Friday afternoon at the Islamic Cultural Center of Medford. Members said Siam worshiped there, making the horrific crime especially emotional and painful for them.
“We still don’t know what the outcome will be, and what the family has yet to go through, but we are here in solidarity with them,” Nichole Mossalam, the director of the Islamic Cultural Center of Medford said. ” We will be making special prayers for them, and asking God to comfort them and provide for them, and as a community, we are stepping up to provide for them, as well.”
His family has battled to get from Bangladesh to the United States for weeks. They were finally able to fly into New York City on Monday with the help of the Boston Convenience Store Owners Association, Boston Mayor Marty Walsh, Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Sen. Ed Markey. Siam’s family cleared COVID-19 protocols on Tuesday and arrived at Boston Medical Center Wednesday.
His parents and his younger brothers, 14 and 6, are praying for a miracle and are pleading with the public to help bring the shooter to justice. “He’s a really good person. He helped me a lot and he worked hard with me,” said Abdul Matin, owner of the M&R Store. “I had great confidence in him.”He told me one day: ‘I have a plan. When I’ve got everything, I’ll start to go to school. But now, I need to help my family.'”A mug shot of Stephon Samuel provided by the Brockton Police Department.
Brockton police said Samuel was taken into custody a day after the Motel 6 was robbed at gunpoint early on the morning of July 22.
In that incident, police said Samuel took an undisclosed amount of cash before pressing the hotel employee to hand over more money and threatening to shoot him.
Brockton police said the clerk and suspect engaged in a physical altercation before the suspect fled the motel.
A Brockton police news release said Samuel is “a suspect who police departments across the state have made inquiries about regarding similar crimes in their community.”
A GoFundMe page setup to help pay for Siam’s medical expenses and help support his family has raised more than $66,000 of its $75,000 goal.
- Chhabed Sathee from New York
