Police arrest Hempstead man in Rockville Centre gas station robbery

Saifuddin Abdus-Samad is accused of robbing a Sunrise Highway gas station and cutting an employee in the face with a knife

Posted Thursday, October 8, 2026 12:48 pm

Saifuddin Abdus-Samad, 56, of Hempstead, was arrested and arraigned on Thursday in connection with a Sept. 14 robbery at a Rockville Centre gas station, according to Nassau County police.

Courtesy Nassau County Police Department

By Brian Kacharaba

A Hempstead man was arrested Thursday and arraigned in connection with a Sept. 14 robbery at a Rockville Centre gas station in which a 64-year-old employee was cut in the face with a knife, according to Nassau County police.

Saifuddin Abdus-Samad, 56, of Hempstead, was arrested in Long Beach following an investigation by Nassau County police detectives. He is charged with two counts of robbery and one count of assault.

Police said the incident happened around 3:42 a.m. Sept. 14 at the BP gas station at 2 Sunrise Highway.

According to detectives, Abdus-Samad entered the station and demanded money from the cash register. When a 64-year-old male employee refused, Abdus-Samad struck him in the face with a knife, causing a laceration.

Abdus-Samad then took cash from the register and fled on foot, police said.

The employee was taken by a Nassau County police ambulance to a local hospital for evaluation.

Detectives located Abdus-Samad in Long Beach on Thursday and arrested him without incident, police said. He was arraigned later in the day at First District Court in Hempstead.

The charges are accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless proven guilty.

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