AN off-duty security guard has been arrested and charged with murder after fatally shooting a 17-year-old boy at a sports store.
Aaron Brown Myers, 51, fatally shot teenager Hazrat Ali Rouhani, who was allegedly returning a BB gun to a Big 5 sporting goods store outside Seattle, Washington.
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Myers told officers he believed the teen was planning to rob the store.
He also expressed concern for his 13-year-old son, who was taking jiu-jitsu classes nearby.
A probable cause statement from the Renton Police Department added that the boys were ignoring Myers’ commands and believed one of them was going to “kill him.” [Myers]”, USA Today reported.
According to police, surveillance footage appears to refute that claim.
Police said they showed the boys approaching the store’s main entrance while Myers sat in his vehicle in the parking lot to conduct “surveillance” while his son practiced.
Myers, who claims to be a licensed security guard, reportedly stated that he “saw several crimes occur” outside the store.
The footage was taken as Myers approached the moment he exited the vehicle and pointed a firearm at the pair.
One of the teenagers allegedly took the compressed air gun out of his pocket and placed it on the ground before extending his arms to indicate that he was not in possession of a weapon.
The police document then states that Myers pushed the boy to the ground and held him in front of police while pointing the gun at him.
“Immediately afterwards…it is clear that he was shot because he abruptly pulled his body away from Myers and fell to the ground,” the document continued.
Police said Myers cried as officers took him into custody and stated that he had a “duty to act” in what he believed to be a threatening situation.
“Myers felt he did not have time to call 911 and that he had a duty to act to stop the individuals from hurting someone innocent and to protect his son, who was at the scene next door,” according to the police report. .
He said he saw what he believed to be a gun in the teen’s waistband and saw the boy “grab the handle of the gun,” police wrote.
Myers said he demanded that the teen not stay still, but he ignored the instructions and “tightened his grip on the gun.”
Myers said he believed the teen “was going to pull him out” and “was going to kill him.”
It was at that moment that Myers fired the fatal shot.
Rohani’s principal at Kent-Meridian High School, David Radford, sent an email to parents and students notifying them of the teen’s tragic death.
“As some of you may have seen the news on the evening of Wednesday, June 5, Hazrat Ali Rohani was involved in an altercation in Renton which ended tragically with loss of life,” he wrote, according to the Kent Reporter .
“Our thoughts are with his friends and family during this delicate time.”
It is unknown when Myers will appear before a judge.
This story originally appeared on The-sun.com read the full story
