Cen Yue Kui, Store Clerk, Sprayed With Chemicals And Bludgeoned In Mini Mart Robbery

Chemical Spray Attack And Robbery Puts Clerk In Extreme Critical Condition

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If you needed any proof to how strong nicotine cravings are, look how far one Miami man went to get his tobacco fix. Sunday around noon, a man entered Alex's Mini Market on NW 12th Avenue and 5th Street under the pretense of buying some milk.

When clerk Cen Yue Kui, 44, was ringing up this mundane dairy purchase, the suspect sprayed him in the face with an unknown chemical. He then approached Kui, busy rubbing his eyes on the other side of the counter, and bludgeoned him with a sledge hammer on the back of his head.

The coveted prize for all this violence? Two cartons of cigarettes. And according to Miami-Dade Police, Kui, a father of two children ages 11 and 7, is now in extreme critical condition.

"My husband is... a good guy," said Kui's wife, Phuong Thuy Ly Cen. "He [is] never angry to anybody...I don't know what happened."

After striking Kui, the suspect immediately fled on a mountain bike. The armed robber is described as a white male in his 50's or 60's, approximately 5'8", 170lbs. He was last seen wearing a light-colored cap, a buttoned-down shirt, a gray hoodie, and black pants.

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