Anne Arundel County Holds Vigil for Slain Gas Station Clerk

Dozens of people gathered at a Hanover gas station to remember a man supporting a family in India who was fatally shot during an armed robbery.

Rajinder Kumar, 49 of Glen Burnie was shot and killed by a robber shortly after 1 a.m. Aug. 7 at the Exxon gas station at 7898 Ridge Road in Hanover, according to a previous Patch story. The suspect took an undetermined amount of cash from behind the counter and fled in an unknown direction.

Kumar’s colleagues told The Baltimore Sun that he was sending his earnings to his wife and children in India. Naveel Malik, owner of the Exxon told the news outlet Kumar had been working at the gas station for about a year. Through donations, his body will be sent back to India for burial.

Religious leaders called out for unity at Monday’s vigil.

“When incidents like this happen, the whole community is affected,” Larry Lee Thomas, pastor of the Empowering Believers Church of the Apostolic Faith in Glen Burnie and chairman of the Anne Arundel county NAACP told The Baltimore Sun.

The suspect has yet to be found, but there is a $27,000 total reward for information leading to his arrest.

The FBI has joined in on the search for the suspect, offering a $20,000 reward for the robber’s arrest and indictment, Patch reports. Anne ARundel County Muslim Council has contributed an additional $5,000, and Metro crime Stoppers is offering up to $2,000.

Surveillance footage at the gas station shows a male suspect, described by police as an African American with average build. He was wearing a hooded sweatshirt and tan or light-colored shorts and armed with a handgun.

“We know we’re asking someone who knows the shooter to come forward and that’s not an easy thing to do,” said the Baltimore Division of the FBI. “But an innocent man was shot and killed for no reason. We have to find this robber before he robs another store, and puts more lives in danger.”

Pastor Abraham Shanklin of New Life International Ministries spoke out at the vigil, addressing the shooter.

“One way or another, whatever’s done in the dark will come to light and you will be found,” Shanklin told the CBS Baltimore.

Anyone with information on this case is asked to call Anne Arundel County Police homicide detectives at 410-222-8610.

>>Dozens gathered together for the vigil on Monday. Credit: Screenshot from WJZ.

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»Anne Arundel County Police have released security camera video of the slaying of a clerk at a Hanover Exxon gas station. The victim has been identified as Rajinder Kumar of Glen Burnie.