Merciful storekeeper changes robber's mind and religion

Shopkeeper Mohammad Sohail says he recited an Islamic oath over the would-be robber after he broke into sobs.



New York (CNN) -- UPDATE UPDATE UPDATE.....
Six months ago, a Long Island convenience store owner turned a would-be robbery into an act of compassion. On Wednesday, the shoplifter made amends with a $50 bill and a thank you letter for saving him from a life of crime.

The story began in May 2009, when Mohammad Sohail of Shirley, New York, was closing his Shirley Express convenience store one night. Security camera footage from that evening shows a man wielding a baseball bat barging into the store and demanding money.

Sohail had a rifle ready and quickly aimed it directly in the robber's face, forcing the man to drop the bat and lay on the ground. Unbeknownst to the man, Sohail never loads his gun.

According to Sohail, the man immediately started to plead with him, tearfully saying, "I'm sorry, I have no food. I have no money. My whole family is hungry. Don't call the police. Don't shoot me."

"When I see him starting crying [those] things, I really feel bad for him," said Sohail. "I say, oh man, this is something different."

Sohail made the man pledge never to rob anybody ever again, then gave the man $40 and a loaf bread. Sohail, who is from Pakistan, said the man then wanted to be a Muslim like him, so he recited an Islamic oath and gave the would-be robber the name Nawaz Sharif Zardari.

Sohail went to get some milk, but when he returned the man had fled with the money and food.

Both Mohammad Sohail and Suffolk County Police have no idea who the man is. After the May incident, Sohail explained that he will "absolutely not" be pressing charges, though police are still investigating the case.

Over the past six months, Sohail's story of sympathy and kindness has inspired many across the country.

The Shirley Express store has received numerous letters of admiration.

"No person has ever moved my spirit the way you did. From your biggest admirer," one letter says. "Great men are capable of great acts. You are a great American," another reads.

He has also received several checks with such messages for "a couple hundred dollars" in total, says Sohail. He has made a point to give this money "to the people" by offering free bagels, rolls and coffee in his store every night after 9 o'clock.

But the envelope that arrived on Wednesday came as a surprise. Postmarked November 11 without a return address, it enclosed a $50 bill and a note apparently from the would-be robber.

The typed letter begins, "You change My Life (sic)," and goes on to say that the man is sorry for his actions six months ago.

"At the time I had No money No food on my table No Job, and nothing for my family. I know that it was wrong, but I had know (sic) choice. I needed to feed My family. When You had That gun to my head I was 100% that I was going to die," reads the letter.

The letter says Sohail's acts inspired him to become a "True Muslim" and that his life has changed dramatically.

"I'm very happy that somebody got to change his life," Sohail said. "If he is a maybe criminal, maybe is not anymore. So now he is a good person in this community and I'm very glad for that. He's staying out of trouble, he's not in a jail, he's taking care of his family."

CNN's Mary Snow and Shirley Zilberstein contributed to this report.
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NEW YORK (CNN) -- A potential victim became a compassionate counselor during a recent robbery attempt, changing the would-be criminal's mind -- and apparently his religion.


Mohammad Sohail said he gave his would-be robber a new Muslim name -- Nawaz Sharif Zardari.
2 of 2 Storekeeper Mohammad Sohail was closing up his Long Island convenience store just after midnight on May 21 when -- as shown on the store's surveillance video -- a man came in wielding a baseball bat and demanding money.

"He said, 'Hurry up and give me the money, give me the money!' and I said, 'Hold on'," Sohail recalled in a phone interview with CNN on Tuesday, after the store video and his story was carried on local TV.

Sohail said he reached under the counter, grabbed his shotgun and told the robber to drop the bat and get down on his knees.

"He's crying like a baby," Sohail said. "He says, 'Don't call police, don't shoot me, I have no money, I have no food in my house.' "

Amidst the man's apologies and pleas, Sohail said he felt a surge of compassion.

He made the man promise never to rob anyone again and when he agreed, Sohail gave him $40 and a loaf of bread.

"When he gets $40, he's very impressed, he says, 'I want to be a Muslim just like you,' " Sohail said, adding he had the would-be criminal recite an Islamic oath.

"I said 'Congratulations. You are now a Muslim and your name is Nawaz Sharif Zardari.'"

When asked why he chose the hybrid of two Pakistani presidents' names, the Pakistani immigrant laughed and said he had been watching a South Asian news channel moments before the confrontation.

Sohail said the man fled the store when he turned away to get the man some free milk.

He said police might still be looking for the suspect but he doesn't intend to press charges.

"The guy, you know, everybody has a hard time right now, it's too bad for everybody right now in this economy," said the storekeeper.

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Google Street View Car Plows Down Deer

Gathering ground-level images for Google's voyeuristic Street View application, one of the search giant's mobile camera cars hit and killed a baby deer while snapping on a rural road in upstate New York.

The incident was recorded on Google Maps (here), but has since been blacked out by Google.

A sorry Google commented: "Gathering the imagery for Street View requires quite a bit of driving; as such, we take safety very seriously. Unfortunately, accidents do happen -- as some people have noticed, one of our Street View cars hit a deer while driving on a rural road in upstate New York. Due to several user requests using the "Report a concern" tool, these images are no longer available in Street View.

"The driver was understandably upset, and promptly stopped to alert the local police and the Street View team at Google. The deer was able to move and had left the area by the time the police arrived. The police explained to our driver that, sadly, this was not an uncommon occurrence in the region -- the New York State Department of Transportation estimates that 60,000 to 70,000 deer collisions happen per year in New York alone -- and no police report needed to be filed."

Google's Street View captures privacy critic LAWYER Smoking

Google's Street View captures image of privacy critic LAWYER

Street View had its critics right from the start. Less than a month after the service was launched, attorney Kevin Bankston discovered a Street View of himself smoking a cigarette outside the offices of the Electronic Frontier Foundation, an organization that fights for consumer privacy rights among other things.
Bankston was not too happy about this and viewed the Street View image of himself on Google as an invasion of his privacy. Enlisting the help of the EFF he lead the charge against Google showing faces on its Street View feature. It didn't take long for complaints to roll in after that from people who saw themselves seemingly immortalized on Google's services while they were walking down the street, sunbathing, leaving strip clubs, and engaged in other potentially embarrassing situations (you get the picture).
Some concessions were made on Google's behalf to cool privacy concerns. Google began offering a way for people to request their faces be blurred on Street Views. However, the process required you to submit to Google your legal name, email address, the address of your photograph on Street View, a sworn statement verifying your request, and a copy of your photo ID.
The gesture backfired when many complained those wanting to protect their privacy were having to forfeit it to do so. Google then modified the process to require just your name, the address of your Street View photo, and an acknowledgment that you are the person in the photo and you want it removed from Google Maps.
More recently Canada has been concerned about facial recognition in Street View for some time. The country's privacy commissioner, Jennifer Stoddart, recently sent a letter to Google stating that the Google Maps feature may violate Canada's privacy laws.
Another objection came in the way of a Pennsylvania couple that wanted an image of their house removed from Street Views arguing Google Maps violated their privacy. Despite no faces were part of the picture, the couple decide to sue Google claiming Street Views "violated their privacy, devalued their property, and caused them mental suffering."

On Thursday Google faced even more scrutiny from Peter Hustinx, a privacy chief for the European Union, who urged Google to work with EU officials to ensure Street View does not violate European privacy laws. In France, for example, you cannot legally publish a photograph of someone without their consent.
This week Google finally threw in the towel. The Pennsylvania case is still pending. Can you blame Google?
Do you think Google did the right thing? Should it blur private houses as well?