Shoplifter stabs Woodbridge gas station worker in neck, cops say
WOODBRIDGE A gas station employee was stabbed in the neck Monday afternoon when he tried to stop a shoplifter, according to Woodbridge police.
Police said Harlin M. Rodriguez, 23, of Carteret, entered the Racestar gas station on Port Reading Avenue around 5:15 p.m. and was confronted by the 42-year-old male worker in the store s Food Mart.
The employee was taken by ambulance to Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick to undergo surgery. The man was recovering from surgery on Tuesday morning and is expected to survive, according to police.
The NYPD released home security camera video of a home invasion and robbery in which six family members, including two children, were zip-tied inside their house in Queens overnight Friday.
The investigation revealed that the station attendant attempted to stop an alleged shoplifter at the station s convenience store, which escalated to a confrontation outside where the suspect stabbed him in the neck with a knife.
The suspect, identified as 23-year-old Harlin Rodriguez, initially fled the scene but was located a short time later with the assistance of Carteret Police Department.
He was apprehended and is charged with attempted murder, aggravated assault, possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose, unlawful possession of a weapon, and robbery.