Two men were arrested Thursday after Pittsburgh police said they attacked a 7-Eleven employee in Bloomfield and later told an officer the worker \u201cneeds to go back to his land \u2026 his country.\u201d<\/p>\n
Pittsburgh police charged Cedrick Smith, 25, of McKeesport and Duron Davenport, 19, of Pittsburgh\u2019s Garfield neighborhood with ethnic intimidation and simple assault.<\/p>\n
Police said the two left a gash above Mohammed Al-Maghariz\u2019s left eye after hitting him with a torrent of punches.<\/p>\n
Al-Maghariz had repeatedly told the pair to leave the store, according to a criminal complaint.<\/p>\n
Police said the men acted \u201cwith malicious intention toward the actual or perceived race, color, religion, national origin of another individual \u2026 on his or her property,\u201d according to the complaint. They did not elaborate.<\/p>\n
Police did not provide any biographical information \u2014 such as age, race, ethnicity or religious affiliation \u2014 about Al-Maghariz in the complaint.<\/p>\n
The complaint did not contain information about whether either suspect said anything about Al-Maghariz\u2019s ethnicity or religion to him.<\/p>\n
Nobody answered the phone Friday at the 7-Eleven location at 4779 Liberty Ave.<\/p>\n
The store and an adjoining Sunoco gas station sit across South Mathilda Street from West Penn Hospital.<\/p>\n
Neither 7-Eleven nor Sunoco\u2019s corporate headquarters responded Friday to emails seeking comment.<\/p>\n
Video footage from inside the convenience store showed Davenport and Smith enter and approach the counter around 11:30 a.m., according to the criminal complaint.<\/p>\n
\u201cGet me a Black & Mild, (expletive),\u201d Davenport told Al-Maghariz, referring to a tobacco product, the complaint said.<\/p>\n
Police said Al-Maghariz declined Davenport\u2019s request, who was too young under Pennsylvania\u2019s age limit of 21 to buy tobacco products.<\/p>\n
Davenport and Al-Maghariz then began arguing.<\/p>\n
Al-Maghariz \u201cwas observed continually pointing toward the door as the two continued to argue,\u201d the complaint said.<\/p>\n
Police said the video showed AI-Maghariz \u201cswiping his hand extremely close to Davenport\u2019s face.\u201d No contact was made, according to the complaint.<\/p>\n
Al-Maghariz walked around the counter and approached the two men \u201cwhile yelling and pointing toward the door,\u201d the complaint said.<\/p>\n
Both Smith and Davenport then began punching Al-Maghariz multiple times, the complaint said. Al-Maghariz \u201cheld his hands up in an attempt to block the punches.\u201d<\/p>\n
The pair then ran from the store, the complaint said.<\/p>\n
Officers responded to a \u201ctheft report\u201d from the store and found Al-Maghariz with \u201ca gash\u201d above his left eye, with dried blood extending down the left side of his face, the complaint said. His left eye was red.<\/p>\n
A police officer spotted \u2014 and stopped \u2014 the two suspects as they were walking away from the convenience store near the intersection of Liberty Avenue and South Winebiddle Street, the complaint said.<\/p>\n
Smith and Davenport told police \u201cthat they had been assaulted\u201d by the store employee, the complaint said.<\/p>\n
Davenport confirmed he asked for a Black & Mild, a cigarillo packed with flavored pipe tobacco, and the clerk there denied his request and asked the pair to leave, the complaint said. They \u201cexchanged words\u201d and then the employee \u201csmacked\u201d him, Davenport told police.<\/p>\n
Al-Maghariz \u201cgot what he deserved,\u201d Davenport told police, the complaint said.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe needs to go back to his land \u2026his country,\u201d Smith said, according to the complaint.<\/p>\n
\u201cKeep all that disrespect over there,\u201d Smith added, the complaint said. \u201cWith the guy there \u2026 at the store, it has to do with race.\u201d<\/p>\n
Al-Maghariz told police he planned to go to West Penn Hospital for his injuries, the complaint said. He also confirmed Davenport and Smith, who were in the back seat of a police cruiser, were the attackers.<\/p>\n
Attorneys for Davenport and Smith were not listed Friday in court records.<\/p>\n
Court records show Smith negotiated a guilty plea in 2024 for two counts of harassment with physical contact, and one count of disorderly conduct for engaging in fighting. A judge sentenced him to 90 days\u2019 probation.<\/p>\n
Davenport and Smith have preliminary hearings set for Sept. 23.<\/p>\n
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