Employee who locked door before shooting at gas station charged with manslaughter
A petrol station clerk who locked a door during a dispute over a small purchase has been charged with manslaughter after the uproar led to the death of another man.
A gas station remains closed less than a week after a fatal shooting in Detroit, Michigan, Wednesday, May 10, 2023. Detroit authorities say a man fatally shot another customer inside a station -service and injured two others in a dispute over a small purchase. (AP Photo/Ed White)
The Associated Press
DETROIT — A petrol station clerk who locked a door during a dispute over a small purchase was charged with manslaughter on Thursday after the uproar led to the shooting death of another man.
Wayne County District Attorney Kym Worthy has filed charges against Al-Hassan Aiash, 22, of Hamtramck, in connection with the May 6 fatal shooting of Gregory Kelly, 37, of Detroit, who was also at the interior of the gas station.
Kelly and two other men inside the gas station repeatedly pleaded with Aiash to unlock the door and let them out, Worthy said.
Aiash pressed a security button to unlock the door, but said nothing to the men seconds before the shooting began, Worthy said.
“Allegations that the defendant locked the store door and ignored the men’s pleas to be released had tragic consequences in this case,” Worthy said in a news release.
Aiash was arrested Thursday by the Detroit Police Department and was scheduled for arraignment Friday morning, Worthy said.
It was unclear if Aiash had an attorney who could comment on the allegations against him.
The man who allegedly shot Kelly, Samuel Anthony McCray, 27, has been charged with first degree murder, two counts of assault with intent to murder and three counts of firearm and felony. in possession of a firearm.
The shooting happened after 3 a.m. on May 6. McCray attempted to leave the gas station with items worth less than $4 after an electronic purchase was rejected, but Aiash then locked the door, the prosecutor’s office said.
McCray threatened to shoot everyone inside the gas station unless the door was unlocked, according to witness David Langston.
Langston told WJBK-TV he begged McCray, “‘Please, man, don’t shoot us. We have nothing to do with this. … And he started shooting.
Langston, 37, and a 60-year-old man were injured.
