President Donald Trump shared graphic surveillance footage Friday showing a 51-year-old gas station clerk being fatally beaten with a hammer outside a Fort Myers Chevron station, using the April 3 killing to sharply criticize immigration policies from the previous administration.
The video, originally released in blurred form by the Department of Homeland Security, shows 40-year-old Rolbert Joachin allegedly smashing a vehicle’s windshield before repeatedly striking the victim in the head with a hammer in broad daylight. She was pronounced dead at the scene.
The victim, Nilufar Yasmin, was a Bangladeshi immigrant and mother of two who had worked at the convenience store for just three months. One of her daughters attends a university in Tallahassee; another works at a different Fort Myers gas station. Co-workers described her as a kind woman who was opening the store after morning prayers when the attack occurred.
Joachin, a Haitian national, faces charges of second-degree murder and criminal property damage. The Fort Myers Police Department arrested him approximately six hours after the attack at the Chevron station on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, locating him on Mango Street with assistance from Immigration and Customs Enforcement. He remains in custody at Lee County Jail without bond, with ICE lodging a detainer against him.
According to DHS, Joachin first entered the United States in August 2022 and was released into the country under the Biden administration. A federal judge later issued a final order of removal against him, but he was subsequently granted Temporary Protected Status, a humanitarian program allowing nationals of designated countries to remain temporarily in the U.S. His TPS expired in 2024.
Trump posted the unblurred footage to Truth Social with a lengthy statement condemning what he called an abused immigration program. “The video of her brutal slaying is one of the most vicious things you will ever see,” the President wrote. He described the suspect as “this animal” who was allowed to stay because the Biden Administration granted Haitians Temporary Protected Status, calling it “a massively abused and fraudulent program.”
Surveillance footage and witness accounts paint a disturbing picture of what led to the killing. The day before the attack, Joachin—who was homeless—attempted to withdraw money from an ATM at the gas station. When he could not access funds, he allegedly demanded cash from Yasmin. She told him the store did not own the ATM and could not provide money.
The following morning, Yasmin was inside the store praying when she heard Joachin damaging her vehicle. She stepped outside to confront him. Wearing a yellow graphic t-shirt, Joachin walked toward her and struck her in the head with the hammer. She collapsed immediately, and he continued the assault before fleeing on foot. Two nearby witnesses called 911.
Police launched an intensive manhunt, placing three nearby schools on lockdown as officers searched vacant homes and used aviation support, K-9 units, and teams on the ground. Fort Myers Police Chief Jason Fields said officers searched “every single block” in the last confirmed area where Joachin was spotted. They found him hours later wearing different clothing—a black t-shirt.
Joachin now faces one count of homicide with a dangerous, depraved mind without premeditation and one count of criminal property damage. According to Gulf Coast News, Joachin confessed during interrogation, telling detectives he went to the gas station intending to kill Yasmin and smashed her windshield with a hammer to lure her outside. His next court appearance is scheduled for May 4, 2026.
The case sparked immediate political reaction. DHS Acting Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis stated, “This heinous murderer was RELEASED into the country by the Biden administration.”
Senator Ashley Moody, a Florida Republican, called the killing “absolutely unconscionable,” accusing Democrats of actively working to shield the suspect from deportation. Senator Tommy Tuberville of Alabama pointed to a 52-day partial DHS shutdown he attributed to Democratic resistance on funding. Senator Mike Lee of Utah wrote that a day would come when the country would not have to deal with foreign murderers “because we deported them before they could harm any American.”
Trump concluded his statement by urging prayer for the victim’s family and warning against watching the graphic footage, writing that he felt an “obligation” to post it “so that people can see what Democrats are protecting.”
DHS confirmed that ICE will deport Joachin regardless of the outcome of his criminal case. A memorial with flowers has appeared outside the gas station where Yasmin was killed.