Store Owner Feels Blessed He Wasn’t Hit by Gunfire During Police Chase and Shooting
Apr 21, 2019, 9:58 PM | Updated: 10:49 pm
SALT LAKE CITY – On April 8, a gunman led police on a chase through the streets of Salt Lake – a chase that ended in a hail of gunfire after the gunman crashed into a store.
That store was Princess Alterations at 3339 S. State in South Salt Lake. Two weeks later, it’s still in shambles and the owners say they can’t stay there.
The business is now boarded up. The interior walls, along with dresses, shirts and other clothing, are riddled with bullet holes. Shattered glass covers the floor. The little shop looks like an explosion happened inside.
Thaer Hassan was working in the back of the store when the truck crashed through it. He called his wife.
“He was screaming ‘help me, help me.’ I asked what happened,” said Saadiyah Hassan. “He said, ‘I don’t know what’s going on here.’”
Police opened fire on the suspect, 37-year-old Harold Vincent Robinson, killing him at the scene.
While devastated over the damage to their store, the Hassans feel grateful it wasn’t worse, and it definitely could have been.
They say one of the shots fired could have hit Thaer, and point to a bullet hole in the back of the store as evidence. Fortunately, he stepped away from his work area right before the shooting started.
“He’s very lucky,” said Saadiyah Hassan. “He says God blessed me.”
The Hassans will now have to rebuild but because of memories that are now too painful, they say it will have to be somewhere else.
“For my husband’s problems, we’re going to have to move,” said Saadiyah Hassan. “We’re not going to stay here.”
The Hassans have had to close up shop while they wait for the insurance company to assess the damage. There’s also a GoFundMe page (https://www.gofundme.com/f/relocating-princess-alterations-and-leather-work
