Shooting Victim's Cousin Pleads For Help Finding Suspects

DENVER (CBS4) - A Denver store clerk is in a coma after being shot by robbers Wednesday night. The father of two was working at the York Street Market off Bruce Randolph when he was shot.

Two other robbery attempts were carried out that night at a pair of Subway shops nearby -- one on east 20th near Park Avenue, the other on Colfax near Quebec. All three robberies were in close proximity.

Raheem Abdul Ahadi was trying to provide for his family. Now a bullet has left him without his kidney. His family is reaching out to anyone who might know who shot him and they want justice.

"(At) 3 a.m. his wife rushed, came to my place, my house, and she's like, 'Shawn, please go over there in the hospital, your cousin's been shot,' " Ahadi's cousin Shawn Muner said.

Ahadi fled Afghanistan about 25 years ago.

"His father was shot and killed by the Soviet Union in Afghanistan. By friendly fire his mother got killed," Muner said.

Violence followed the 44-year-old to Denver.

"Not only they shot him but they beat him up too at the same time. Yeah, he has stitches all over his eyes and he's pretty beat up," Muner said.

Muner is disgusted by the senseless shooting.

"If you rob a place like this, what are you going to get, $200, $300? Is this how much someone's life is worth?"

It's believed his attackers ran off without stealing any money. There's also no surveillance video because the system was not working.

"He's trying to feed his family."

Ahadi has a wife and two young boys. He'd been working two jobs and 16 hour days after losing his home to foreclosure.

"I hold his hand, he's been unconscious, he's in a coma," Muner said. "He's missing one kidney."

His cousin and friends are searching for the suspects.

"All I'm trying to reach from the community, turn over these cowards, I think they're cowards. If they're listening to me, they're cowards."

The suspects are described as two black or Latino men wearing all black clothing. Police hope to have a more detailed description of the gunman and his accomplice sometime next week.

Ahadi has no medical insurance. The family is working on a fund to cover medical costs.