VCU student abducted from convenience store

Last Sunday morning, VCU student Abdullah Haidari ended up at the wrong place at the wrong time. He was abducted at the 7-Eleven at 1003 W. Grace St. at approximately 12:40 a.m., while sitting in the back seat of a 2000 Chevrolet Z28 Camaro.

The driver of the Camaro, Mishari Al-Adwani, and his friend Abdullah Al-Dasem went into the 7-Eleven to grab some snacks while Haidari stayed in the car. When the two came out of the store they noticed the car was gone.

“First, I was just trying to understand what happened – he just got abducted. I was trying to figure out what to do now,” Al-Adwani said. “It still took me a little while to understand what happened, and that he wasn’t here anymore. After 20 hours I actually felt it and realized he wasn’t there.”

Al-Dasem thought that Haidari was joking with him and Al-Adwani.

“At first, I thought it was a joke from Abdullah. But after 15 minutes we called the police to report a car stolen and a kidnapping,” he said.

Al-Sahli couldn’t believe that his close friend had been abducted from an off- campus area.

“It was an unfortunate incident. I was told about it at 10 o’clock the next day after the incident. I was shocked that one of my friends who just got here to Richmond three months ago was abducted,” he said. “To hear that this incident happened shocked me and all of his friends here at VCU.”

The day following the incident, all members of the Kuwaiti Student Organization joined in helping to find Haidari.

“Right away after the incident happened, all the Kuwaitis came – every single one of them – came to the 7-Eleven,” Al-Adwani said. “We gathered around to do a search party to try to find him.

“But we didn’t actually start the search party as a whole group. We started individually with everyone who had a car. But we all came to the (VCU) international office where both guys and girls went to the cars to search for him all over Richmond.”

After Al-Adwani and Al-Dasem reported the incident to the police, the police initially reported it as a carjacking. The two then told the police that Haidari was also in the car during the time of the carjacking.

“At first, they reported the thing as a stolen car – they didn’t think it was an abduction. They had their report as a stolen car, and they didn’t think there was a guy in there,” Al-Adwani said. “Maybe that’s what slowed them down.”

Al-Sahli and his friends complimented the VCU and Richmond police for all they did.

“Well, I think that the VCU police as well as the Richmond police did a good job assuring us that everything would be OK, especially when we had a meeting with them at the international office in the Student Commons,” Al-Sahli said. “The meeting was held at 3 p.m. on Sunday and by 8 o’clock Abdullah was found. I think they were very helpful in this matter.”

Al-Dasem agreed, saying he thought the police did a good job at what they had to do, as both men continued discussing the incident.

About 6:20 p.m. Sunday, Richmond police spotted the stolen car at a convenience store at Jefferson Davis Highway in South Richmond. The police followed the car and within moments apprehended the two suspects in the vehicle. Then about 8 p.m. Haidari was found unharmed standing by the store.

Al-Adwani and friends said they all felt a sense of relief when they saw that Haidari was in good health.

“We were really happy – we jumped on him,” Al-Adwani said, while Al-Sahli said they stood outside the police station for two hours just to see him, and it was a cold night.

Al-Dasem said they saw him before they took him to the police station.

“He rode in the car with us when we took him to the police station,” he said.

Al-Adwani quickly described the scene: “Then after everyone else came, they wanted to see Abdullah. They said they weren’t going to leave until they saw him, and once everyone saw him they greeted him. Then they let the cops do more questioning before they let him go.”

Moudadua V. Diongue and an unnamed woman later were charged with abducting Haidari, robbery and carjacking, but Richmond police are continuing its ongoing investigation with the FBI and with the Kuwaiti Embassy.

Late Monday, rumors surfaced about Haidari deciding to leave the country after this incident, but his three friends were quick to dismiss those rumors.

“He’s here on scholarship to study for four years with forensics. He’s still going to continue on with his plans,” Al-Adwani said. “He’s only been here for three months. We’re just going back to Kuwait in the summertime. He’s just going to Kuwait for the summer.”

All of them asked that they be allowed through the media to personally thank the VCU and Richmond police again for all of the help they provided.

“Thank you Richmond Police and VCU Police for the help you provided for us and Abdullah,” Al-Dasem said.

Al-Sahli elaborated on his acknowledgements:

“I would like to thank the VCU community and everybody in the Richmond area for their support and their questions about Abdullah and his health. It gives us a sense that we’re welcomed in this school and community. I also like to thank the international office here at VCU and their efforts in this matter.”