Gas Station Rampage: ‘For every soldier that dies in Iraq, 10 of [you] should be tortured in World War III.'

WXYZ
Mar. 22, 2006

When a regular customer came into the Redford BP gas station on March 7 and made threatening statements about the war in Iraq, the station owner didn’t take the man’s threats seriously until the next day, when he came back with a pipe.

Owner, Mike Daher, said the incident happened the day after Steven Lauderbeck, who was a regular customer, blamed him for American soldiers dying in Iraq.

"He bought a newspaper and he [leaned] on the counter and very quietly he said, ‘For every soldier that dies in Iraq, 10 of [you] should be tortured in World War III.’," said Daher.

The day after Lauderbeck made that statement he showed up at the gas station with two metal pipes and went on a rampage, swinging at workers and damaging cash registers, glass and a laundry machine.

Lauderbeck said he would kill the workers and burn the gas station down. He even poured rubbing alcohol on the rugs.

Daher, who is Lebanese, not Iraqi said, "It was just sick and I don’t think there’s any excuse for it. The guy could have a weapon or something and shoot somebody and that’s when you gotta worry about it."

After police subdued Lauderbeck with a Taser gun he was arrested and charged with ethnic intimidation.

The workers at the gas station said they aren’t worried that they might be attacked again because the gas station backs up to the Redford Township Police Department and Lauderbeck is now is jail.