Store manager rescues freezing woman in winter storm

Evan’s Foodmart Manager Mirza Hussain, affectionately known as Faris, rescued one of his regular customers from the freezing cold on Saturday morning.

“It was just it was so intense because a guy came inside like, ‘Hey man, she’s across the street frozen,’” Hussain said.

Hussain, who said he’s worked at the store for five years, knows all of his customers. He told NBC 5 that a woman named Bobby spent the night outside overnight on Saturday as the winter storm moved in, because she had nowhere to go.

“My hands were shivering [when I went outside to get her], that just instantly got to me, and I was like, what is she going through?” Hussain said.

Bobby is experiencing homelessness, according to Hussain.

Security video outside of the store captured him carrying her from the cold and into the store. Hussain called Forth Worth police and medics arrived shortly after to take Bobby to the hospital.

“She was already screaming like, ‘Oh, you saved my life!,” Hussain said.

In Southwest Fort Worth, near the small convenience store, Hussain said there are many people experiencing homelessness.

“If you drive around this block alone, you’ll see about 10, 15 people maybe just outside, blankets covered and everything because they don’t have a place to go,” he said.

As snow and ice lie coated on roads and sidewalks outside the food mart, it’s a chilling reminder for Hussain that some of his customers might still be in the thick of it.

“Everybody that you see on the streets has a backstory and as to why they ended up on the streets,” Hussain said. “Just be kind to everybody.”

The City of Fort Worth has overnight emergency shelters for people who need a place to go.

• Union Gospel Mission, 1321 E. Lancaster Ave.
• Presbyterian Night Shelter, 2400 Cypress St.
• Families should go to: The Salvation Army Mabee Center, 1855 E. Lancaster Ave.