WATCH: Detroit Gas Station Clerk Rescues Teen Who Mouthed ‘Help’ After Reported Kidnapping

A gas station clerk in Detroit, Michigan, recently helped rescue a teenage girl from a suspected kidnapper with a dark criminal history.

The 16-year-old was allegedly abducted at gunpoint in Hamtramck on Monday around 7:00 a.m. while she was waiting at Edwin and Brombach streets for her school bus to arrive and take her to Frontier International Academy where she is a student, WXYZ reported.

Meanwhile, other students who saw the reported abduction helped law enforcement track her via cellphones and social media, according to ABC 7.

At approximately 7:30 a.m., the man drove the girl to a gas station at the corner of Nevada Street and Conant. When he asked the girl to pay for some cigarettes, the store clerk, identified as Abdulrahman Abohatem, realized something was off and decided to take action.

“When he ask her to pay for the cigarettes, I stop and go there’s something wrong. And she mouthed-talked to me, like with no sound, ‘Help,'” he recalled, adding he moved out from behind the protective glass at the counter and confronted the man while also shielding the teenager.

“I go out, I kick him out, I ask the girl go behind me,” Abohatem explained.

Surveillance video showed two individuals walking into the gas station store. Moments later, two people are seen walking out of the store the moment a police vehicle arrived at the scene:

Abohatem said once he made contact with the officers, he pointed out the suspect and they took him into custody.

“I feel good when you save somebody. Sixteen years old — she is child,” he added. Per the ABC article, the teenager was safe and a weapon was recovered.

Officials said the girl and the man did not know each other.

When speaking to reporters, City of Hamtramck Mayor Adam Alharbi said of the suspect’s background, “It’s a criminal who had a history of rape charges, and we will make sure he gets what he deserves.”

The first few hours after a young person goes missing or is abducted are the most critical; therefore, it is important to quickly contact local law enforcement and provide information about the child, according to Nemours KidsHealth.