A clerk at a Verizon store said he fought off the suspect accused of setting an elderly couple ablaze when he came face to face with him on Aug. 31, according to the New York Post.
The clerk, who was not identified, said he came face to face with double murder suspect Jamel McGriff on Aug. 31 inside the Verizon store on Sixth Avenue, the New York Post reported. The clerk said he struggled with McGriff, who allegedly brandished a gun. The clerk then realized the gun was fake and was able to chase McGriff away.
NYC double murder suspect got into struggle with Verizon worker during attempted robbery weeks before gruesome crime: ‘Wish I had actually dropped his a–‘ https://t.co/hC2n9BJjYV pic.twitter.com/jBRTcjBTWu
— New York Post (@nypost) September 11, 2025
In recounting the incident to the New York Post, the clerk said he wishes he would’ve “dropped [the suspect’s] a–.”
“The thing is, the general policy for any retail location is just give them what they want, everything’s insured. He just picked literally the one employee in the whole damn company that’s just like, ‘No, motherf–ker. Unless you have a real gun pointed at me, I’m not giving you jack,’” the clerk told the outlet.
The clerk said McGriff raised red flags as soon as he entered the Verizon store. According to the clerk, McGriff allegedly followed him to the back of the store, where a safe was located.
“Right as I opened the safe, he said, ‘I’ve got a gun. Give me the f–king phones.’ I was like ‘No.’ I put the phones back in the safe and closed the safe right in front of him, and was like, ‘Go away,’” the clerk told the outlet.
“He kept on threatening to shoot me. I caught a glimpse of his hand and saw shiny plastic, which clued me in that he didn’t have a real gun,” the clerk explained.
Once the clerk realized the gun was fake, he and McGriff allegedly began to brawl, with the suspect admitting the gun was not real, the New York Post reported. After the clerk threw a few punches, McGriff allegedly managed to break free and run with the clerk chasing after him.
“I wish I had actually dropped his a–, so the cops could have carted him off, rather than getting away. That way, the couple might still be alive and have no idea,” the clerk told the outlet. (RELATED: Suspected Colorado High School Shooter Dead)
McGriff is accused of stabbing a 77-year-old man and a 78-year-old woman before setting fire to their home. The suspect purportedly went door to door asking to charge a phone in the couple’s neighborhood ahead of the incident. Detectives believe he searched the couple’s home for valuables before allegedly setting the fire.
Following a police manhunt, McGriff was arrested Wednesday, NBC New York reported.
McGriff has a lengthy criminal history, according to police. He was recently out on parole after spending 16 years in jail for first-degree robbery and is also allegedly wanted for two recent robberies in Manhattan, NBC New York reported.