A gas station clerk in Hamtramck, Michigan, helped rescue a 16-year-old girl who had been kidnapped at gunpoint on her way to school, according to local police.

The teenager was able to mouth the word "help" to convenience store employee Abdulrahman Abohatem when her alleged kidnapper brought her into the gas station. Abohatem positioned himself between the girl and the man, according to authorities.

A fellow student who witnessed the initial kidnapping had called police, and other students helped track the girl's location to the gas station. Police were able to arrest the suspect following the clerk's intervention.

"I believe this could have [gone] a lot worse than it did," said Hamtramck Police Chief Hussein Farhat at a news conference. "We have every belief that this could have ended really badly."

The rescue was attributed in part to the quick thinking of the store employee, who recognized the girl's distress signal and took action to protect her until authorities arrived.