Pair sought in Fayetteville convenience store robbery, shooting

Two masked gunmen stormed into the Quick Stop Tobacco Shop, at 502 Grove St., around 7 p.m. and demanded cash before opening fire. Detectives said there may have been two more people in a getaway car outside.

Witnesses said the robbery lasted less than three minutes but that the robbers began shooting almost immediately upon entering the store.

Najib Bouzerda, 44, was listed in critical condition Tuesday at Cape Fear Valley Medical Center, while Mohamed Ould, 41, was in fair condition.

Two customers who were inside the store at the time hid from the gunmen behind video machines, police said.

Police released photos from the store security camera of the suspected robbers, and investigators are reviewing the footage to try to get a description of the getaway car.

Anyone who recognizes the suspects or has information about the shooting is asked to call detectives with the Fayetteville Police Department at 910-433-1856 or Crime Stoppers at 910483-8477.

"I would never, ever have thought someone would come in here and shoot up that store," customer Shanee Burtwell said. "It's kind of crazy to me."

Co-workers said Bouzerda was shot three times, once each in the abdomen, the chest and the arm, and Ould was shot twice in the side.

Burtwell said Bouzerda has worked at the Quick Stop for only a month. She called Ould a close friend.

"That man was nice," she said of Ould. "You could come in, and if you don't have any money, he knew you got paid at a certain time, (and) he would let you get stuff out of there. He had a good heart."

The store reopened Tuesday afternoon.