Roseville gas station employee stabbed boss after hearing voice, charges say

An employee at a gas station in Roseville stabbed his boss multiple times and tried to cut his throat after failing to ignore hallucinations and voices telling him to harm the man, court documents state.

Ramsey County prosecutors formally charged 26-year-old Nebil Seid Birhan on Thursday with attempted murder and assault for the attack, which happened Tuesday at the BP on the corner of Cleveland Avenue and County Road D.

Police were called to the gas station at around 3:40 p.m. after reports of a stabbing and found a 58-year-old man lying in the parking lot, getting aid from staff at a nearby dental office. The man told officers he’d been stabbed by an employee, Birhan.

RELATED: 1 person in hospital in serious condition after fighting leads to stabbing in Roseville

A customer was also at the scene and told officers that Birhan had just helped him complete a purchase and then suddenly turned toward the 58-year-old man behind the counter and started stabbing him.

All three men ran out of the gas station and Birhan allegedly tried to stab the customer, too, before driving off and telling 911 dispatchers what he’d done.

The 58-year-old said Birhan had worked for him for about a year and never had any troubles, although Birhan did seem upset by a pending court case. He added that he suspected Birhan has mental health issues.

Surveillance video reviewed by investigators showed Birhan attacked his boss “without warning or provocation,” a criminal complaint states.

When officers interviewed Birhan, they noted he appeared to talk to himself and struggled to answer simple orientation questions, mistaking the current month for February.

Court documents state that Birhan admitted to having a history of mental illness, including prior hallucinations and hearing voices, although he doesn’t take any medications. He added that this incident was the second time that had happened, and he was just working when he heard a voice telling him to stab his boss and he couldn’t “hold himself.”

Birhan went on to say he hoped his boss was alive, calling him a good boss and “my helper,” adding that his boss did nothing wrong and admitting he shouldn’t have stabbed him but couldn’t stop himself.

Doctors told police that the boss will survive but suffered “very severe” injuries that may have a lasting impact throughout the rest of his life, according to court documents.

Birhan’s other pending court case stems from an incident where he allegedly broke into someone’s house with a knife.
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