Clerk Turns Tables On Robber

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An armed robber stormed Fair Haven’s Babe’s Market last year and cleaned out the cash register. Another showed up Tuesday night—but this time Karar Jawad was armed and ready.

Police said Jawad, who carries a state pistol permit, shot a masked alleged robber. The incident took place at 10:19 p.m. The robber and an alleged accomplice fled; the robber ended up in the hospital. Wednesday night police went to the hospital, put the man under arrest, then had him kept under 24-hour guard, according to Lt. Julie Johnson, head of the police department’s Major Crimes Unit.

In an interview at Babe’s on Ferry Street Wednesday evening, Karar said he fired two shots. (Reader’s note: A video of the incident was removed at the clerk’s request.). The 22-year-old convenience store clerk recently took over ownership of the market from his father.

His father was the one was got robbed last year.

“The time they robbed my dad, that’s the time I knew I had to get myself something to protect myself,” Karar said. So Karar got his .40 Glock and permit in April.

Babe’s Market, a small convenience store, stacks mostly snack foods and canned goods. It has two aisles of goods; a few coolers and refrigerators line the walls.

From behind the counter, Karar recalled his brush with the alleged robber.

Around 10:18 p.m. Tuesday, Jawad was behind the counter with his girlfriend and some friends. Everyone was chatting and having a good time, he said.

Suddenly, two young men—one of them armed—dressed all in black stormed in. They yelled at everyone to get on the ground. One of them pointed a gun to the head of the lone customer in line and demanded his money.

“That’s all the money he had,” Jawad remembered of the customer. “It was like $66.” He said the customer was in line to buy half a gallon of milk.

At that point, Jawad was the only one standing; everyone else was on the floor. The armed man turned to Jawad and pointed the gun at his chest.

“I didn’t think. My head was blank for a second,” he recalled.

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