Clerk expecting his second child executed in gas station robbery, Louisiana cops say

A 30-year-old gas station clerk was executed on his knees with his hands in the air during an early morning robbery Monday, Louisiana police say, and his killers are still at large.

Abd El Ghader Sylla, who was working at a Shell station in Kenner, leaves behind a 1-year-old daughter and a pregnant wife, who is expecting their second child in February, The New Orleans Advocate reported.

The two suspects entered the store around 2 a.m. One stood watch by the door while the other went up to Sylla, pulled a pistol and told him to empty the register, according to Kenner police.

Sylla did as the gunman demanded, but it didn’t save him.

Instead, the suspect walked around the counter to where Sylla knelt and shot him to death “without provocation,” police said.

“This was a brutal and senseless murder,” Kenner police said.

Kenner Police Lt. Michael Cunningham said Sylla appeared to be pleading for his life in the surveillance video taken from the store, the Advocate reported.

Sylla’s wife, DeVona Tibbet, said she is devastated, but also confused.

“They had what they had come for, what they needed,” she told the Advocate. “I don’t understand why they needed to hurt him.”

Both suspects were wearing face covers. The one who killed Sylla wore a white knit cap, according to police.

Anyone with information about the robbery is encouraged to contact the Kenner Police Department at 504-712-2222, or Crimestoppers at (504) 822-1111.