Employees at a DeKalb County gas station were shaken early Tuesday after a man viciously beat a store clerk to death with a hammer, authorities said.
DeKalb police responded just after midnight to a Chevron station in the 3300 block of Snapfinger Road in reference to an assault. When officers went inside, they came across a chaotic scene: a man standing over the clerk holding a hammer, with blood and debris covering the ground nearby, according to an incident report.
Police ordered the suspect, identified as Julian Faulkner, to drop the weapon, which he placed on a nearby table before being detained, the report stated. Officers said they found two knives and an additional hammer on him.
During this time, authorities said another store clerk was in the back of the booth hiding, and visibly shaken from the attack.
“(He) could hardly speak due to fear,” police said.
After composing himself, the witness showed officers surveillance footage, which allegedly captured Faulkner hitting the victim in the head with the hammer several times, the report stated. The victim, who died at the scene, was identified by police as 25-year-old Vivek Saini of Norcross.
According to Channel 2 Action News, Faulkner was homeless and employees had let him come in and out of their store from Sunday until Monday, when Saini asked him to leave.
“He asked him to leave or else he was going to call the cops, he had been there for two days,” an employee, who asked to not be identified, told the news station.
The employee said the clerk was leaving for the day when Faulkner allegedly hit him about 50 times in the face and head with the hammer.
Credit: Channel 2 Action News
Credit: Channel 2 Action News
Faulkner, of Decatur, was taken to police headquarters for questioning but refused to cooperate, police said. He was booked into the DeKalb jail on a murder charge, according to online records.
An investigation is ongoing.
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