Sexual Assault at Mapleton Gas Station

An early morning assault at Gordy’s Travel Center in Mapleton leaves one woman injured and one man, 35-year-old Abdulrahman Ali of Fargo, behind bars.
 
The call came in shortly before 6 a.m. Officers arrived in ten minutes.

“The exact extent of what was going down inside the store I don’t believe our deputies were fully aware of,” says Sgt. Tim Briggerman with the Cass County Sheriff’s Department.
 
Abdulrahman Ali allegedly attacked and assaulted a female worker, hiding with her once authorities arrived.
 
“The two deputies forcefully kicked through the door, at which point located a female victim,” Briggerman says.
 
The victim was taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. Ali was taken to jail with four felony charges, including gross sexual imposition.
 
Briggerman adds, “The Cass County Sheriff’s Office believes the appropriate charges are being requested at this time.”
 
Customers at the gas station say the assault does raise some concerns.
 
Richard Turner of Michigan says, “Myself, no. It doesn’t concern me all that much. Now if it was my daughter or something like that I would be concerned.”
 
A customer who wouldn’t talk on the record says he’s not surprised the assault happened, citing a recent robbery in the Mapleton area as evidence of an increase in local crime. Red River Dispatch reports four instances of possible burglaries in the last three months. But a call like this is rare for the town.
 
“From my experience, eight plus years in the patrol division, this is not a common call for service,” Briggerman says. “Fortunately our guys do what they do best, got here in a timely fashion and went to work the minute they made entry into the store.”
 
Authorities believe Ali acted alone.

They are not sharing any specific information about the condition of the victim.

The investigation is ongoing.