A Vancouver convenience store employee who was shot in the leg earlier this month didn’t think he would survive the attack. Mohammad Ali was working an early morning shift at H & Z Market at Main Street and East 16th Avenue when a man entered the store and asked to speak to the manager on Sept. 6. Ali was seated behind the counter at the time. He told CTV News the suspect’s gun was concealed under the man’s coat, so Ali did not initially know what it was. “I heard a big shot, big sound, and it felt like all the store came down on me,” said Ali. “It felt like my leg came out from me, got separate from my body.” He described seeing a lot of blood and then struggling towards the phone. “I called 911. I said, ‘Please, please, I am dying. Somebody shot me! I am dying, please come,’” he recalled. He said the wound remains painful, but doctors have told him he was lucky. Police reviewed security footage as part of their investigation and identified a suspect. Later that day, Kamloops RCMP contacted Vancouver police after a man matching the suspect’s description was taken into custody on an unrelated matter. Victor Sorensen-Avila, 32, has been charged with aggravated assault and assault with a weapon. He remains in custody in Kamloops awaiting a bail hearing, police announced Monday—more than a week after Ali was shot. Vancouver police have not identified a motive and confirmed nothing was taken from the store. “Given the area, this is disturbing,” said spokesperson Const. Darren Wong. Ali has worked at the shop for two decades but does not feel safe returning. A GoFundMe campaign describes him as a familiar and loved presence in the Mount Pleasant community. “For more than 20 years, Ali has been a familiar and loved face in the Main Street community,” the campaign statement reads. “To so many customers, he isn’t just the person behind the counter he is a friend, someone who remembers people, welcomes them with a smile, and has always treated the community with kindness and respect.”
