2 Convenience Store Workers Shot to Death in Palmdale

The slaying of two convenience store employees, one the teenage son of the shop’s owner, occurred during an apparent robbery, authorities said Thursday. No arrests have been made.

The men were killed at Vic’s F&M; Market during a holdup shortly before 7 p.m. Wednesday, said Deputy Valentine Rosario of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. Authorities identified the victims as Phillip Privett Jr., 30, of Palmdale, and Majdy Nasry Haddad, 18, of Lancaster. Haddad’s father owns the store.

Dozens of friends and relatives gathered at the store Thursday to mourn Haddad, a star football player who recently graduated from Lancaster High School.

“The whole football team is crushed,” said Eric Polanco, 17, a former teammate who is now a senior. “We lost the heart of the team. He had told us how he was going to show up at every home game.”

Detectives, who released few details of their investigation, were trying to determine whether anything had been stolen from the store, which sells soda and snacks on a largely industrial strip, Rosario said.

In the shop doorway, mourners left a makeshift shrine of flowers, cards and a football signed by Haddad’s former teammates. Some said the store was popular because its owner, Nasry Haddad, was quick to extend credit to customers short on cash.

A muscular teenager with six siblings, Majdy Haddad worked at his father’s store throughout high school, playing video games when business was slow, said Raymond Samura, 36, a former co-worker. Friends said he was a determined athlete who urged his teammates to push themselves, whether it meant sacking quarterbacks at practice to teach them to react more quickly or explaining the intricacies of a play.

“The guy made me stronger,” said Tim Culver, a 16-year-old student at Lancaster High. “He made me want to play football.”

The football team plans to retire Haddad’s jersey number, 77, at its game tonight, friends said. Haddad, who was named Golden League lineman of the year in 1999, was interested in filmmaking and law enforcement and wanted to attend UCLA, said Robert Jiron, his brother-in-law.

Even after he graduated in June, Haddad drove his trademark white Chevrolet Silverado pickup truck to home games at Lancaster High, where he would hang out with his friends, playing rap music in the parking lot.

Privett, a red-haired store clerk, was frequently seen pedaling through the neighborhood on his bicycle, a customer said.

A single man who lived with his father, Privett had worked at the store for four years, said his cousin Gina Gilmore.

“He was fun, very fun,” she said, adding that he loved children. “He laughed a lot and his laughter was contagious. He was the kind of person who made you feel good when you were around him.”

Sheriff’s investigators declined to say how many suspects they were seeking. “They’re just developing their information,” Rosario said. “They just don’t want to compromise their investigation this early in the game.”