Imagine this: It’s 4:30 AM. You are inside a Smoke Shop and all of a sudden three burglars with masks on storm into the store. You have a gun next to you. Fearing for your safety, you fire a few rounds at the would-be robbers. Then the police show up and drag you off in cuffs, and treat the burglars like the victims.
That actually happened to Hamzeh Abushariah in Arlington, Virginia.
He’s now fighting multiple criminal charges after being the victim of a robbery.
And he’s still sitting in jail.
The incident happened Sunday morning in the Green Valley neighborhood, shortly before 5 a.m.
Police say a group of three suspects broke into a store on the 2400 block of Shirlington Road and began stealing cash and merchandise. The employee, who was in a backroom at the time, picked up a gun, opened a door into the store, and shot one of the suspects, according to an Arlington County Police press release.
The employee then retreated, before going back into the store and firing another shot, police said.
The wounded suspect was a juvenile male; he suffered serious but non-life threatening injuries. The two other suspects fled the scene before police arrived.
The official police press release reads:
The Arlington County Police Department’s Homicide/Robbery Unit is investigating a shooting that took place in the Green Valley neighborhood on the morning of March 29, 2020.
At approximately 4:53 a.m., police were dispatched to the report of trouble unknown in the 2400 block of Shirlington Road. The preliminary investigation indicates that three subjects forced entry into a business and began stealing cash and merchandise. An employee inside a secure back room heard the break in, retrieved a firearm, opened the door to the sales floor and discharged the weapon, striking one juvenile subject. The employee retreated to the back room but reentered the sales floor and discharged his weapon again as the subjects were attempting to flee the business.
Arriving officers located the injured juvenile subject outside the business. He was transported by medics to an area hospital with injuries that are considered serious but non-life threatening. The other two subjects fled the scene on foot prior to police arrival.
Following consultation with the Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office, the employee, Hamzeh Abushariah, 33, of Washington D.C. was charged with Malicious Wounding, Reckless Handling of a Firearm and Violation of a Protective Order. He is being held without bond.
Additional charges related to the breaking and entering are anticipated at a later date.
This incident remains an active criminal investigation. Anyone with information related to this investigation is asked to contact the Arlington County Police Department’s Homicide/Robbery Unit. Information may also be provided anonymously through the Arlington County Crime Solvers hotline at 1-866-411-TIPS (8477).
The Commonwealth’s Attorney, Parisa Dehghani-Tafti, has made some vague references to there being some super secret evidence that they aren’t allowed to talk about:
4/5 This much we can say: there’s evidence we are not at liberty to share that support the charges, the decision was not made lightly, and we are not at the end of charging decisions as to the breaking & entering. We’ll charge based on still developing facts
— Arlington & Falls Church Virginia CA (@CA4Arlington) March 30, 2020
WJLA gives us this a video report and adds context from the shop owner, Jowan Aqrawi:
Aqrawi says he bought two firearms a few weeks ago because he was concerned someone would try to steal from his store during the coronavirus pandemic.
“We bought protection for the store just in case, because on Facebook you see a lot of robberies, a lot of things going on,” Aqrawi said.
Aqrawi says Abushariah is a father of two children (who were not at the store at the time). He says Abushariah was staying at the store both to save money and to avoid the coronavirus, which had affected the complex Abushariah lived in in DC.
Abushariah is being held in jail on no bond.
That’s right, he’s being held with no bond possible. That’s typically only reserved for murderers.
The shop owner appeared on Tucker Carlson to fight for his employee:
H/T to Victoria Taft at PJ Media.
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