Customers remember slain store owner

HAMPTON, Va. (WAVY) - Neighbors held a vigil for a convenience store clerk murdered on the job more than a week ago.

Mohammad Zidan was a familiar face along W. Pembroke Avenue. Police said two men shot him to death while robbing Roy's Quickserve on Nov. 30.

Police continue to search for the suspects.

About 20 people came out to the store Saturday night to remember Zidan. Several customers told WAVY.com that losing Zidan was like losing a family member.

"I know that a lot of people are mourning, but at the same time we're also here to celebrate his life and the legacy," Kerri Thurman said.

People gathered in a circle outside of the store. While some stood in silence, others shared their memories.

"I'm almost in tears, because he always made you laugh," Howard Crear said. "A lot of people say he was a tough guy, but he had a big heart."

Zidan ran this store for years, and he came to know many of the people at the gathering as more than just customers.

"When I got married he never called me Michelle," Michelle Long said. "It was Mike's wife. He called me that because him and my husband were very good friends."

Customers said Zidan was more than just a convenience store owner.

"We're going to miss him real bad, and it's real sad that someone would do something like this," Crear said. "They destroyed a whole family."

Zidan earned the love of many by giving whatever he could.

"He did a lot of things for a lot of people around here," Thurman said. "He would help pay a bill, feed someone when they were hungry. He just had a very charitable heart."

Those who knew him said his death has left a hole in the community. They said by sharing their memories of him that his legacy could live on.

"He definitely is a saint," Thurman said. "I would rather say 'is a saint' because he has not left us. He will always be in our memory and in our hearts."

Zidan's family has yet to decide what to do with the store, customers said.

Anyone with information about the shooting should call the Hampton Police Department or the Crime Line at 1-888-LOCK-U-UP.