Employee stabbed during robbery at Rochester cell phone store

Rochester, Minn. (KROC-AM News) – Two people are in custody after being stabbed during a robbery at a Rochester cell phone store.

That's according to Amanda Grayson, communications coordinator for the Rochester Police Department. Officers responded to the store shortly before 8:30 p.m. Tuesday evening.

Preliminary investigation indicates the employee suffered a serious laceration after being cut by a knife during a fight with the robbery suspects.

Young Rochester men arrested after stabbing during AT&T store robbery

Grayson says the reported robbery and stabbing took place at the AT&T store in 430 Crossroads Drive Southwest.

The robbery suspects entered the store through the back door and began stealing several phones, the police report states.

The young men cut the employee during a physical struggle that followed as he tried to stop the alleged theft, police said.

The suspects then fled the store through the back door and were spotted by officers in the area of ​​South Broadway Ave. and 14th Street. Grayson says the suspects were arrested after a brief foot chase.

They were identified as Ahmed Ali, 26, and Bilal Hilowle, 20. The two Rochester men are being held in the Olmsted County Jail and could face robbery charges, Grayson said.

Mayo Clinic ambulance responded to the scene and transported the employee to the hospital. Police describe the worker's stabbing as not life-threatening.

Officers recovered a knife and several phones from the store, Grayson said.

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