By Ray Rivera | September 29, 2020 at 8:34 PM EDT - Updated September 29 at 8:46 PM
CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC) - Investigators say surveillance footage showed that an 18-year-old clerk fired several shots at a man, one of which struck him in the head, following an altercation at a grocery store in downtown Charleston.
Police arrested 18-year-old Suhib Ahmed Yousef who was charged with attempted murder and possession of a weapon during the commission of a violent crime in connection to the shooting that happened Monday evening at Green’s Grocery store on 167 President Street.
On Tuesday, Yousef was denied bond on the attempted murder charge and given a $100,000 bond on the remaining charge. The victim was transported to MUSC with life threatening injuries.
During a bond court hearing, Yousef’s lawyer said his client was defending himself from a robbery. Yousef is on a work visa from Jordan and is employed by his uncle.
In arrest affidavits released on Tuesday afternoon, police said surveillance video showed the suspect and the victim engaged in a verbal altercation inside the business with the suspect brandishing a blade at one point then getting a gun after the victim had spit towards him.
According to investigators, as the suspect followed the victim out of the business he pointed a gun at the victim’s back.
At one point, police said the suspect fired a shot in the direction of the victim who then ran towards the suspect who was pushed backward into the store. Authorities reported the suspect then fired several rounds, one of which hit the victim who fell to the ground.
Police arrested 18-year-old Suhib Ahmed Yousef who was charged with attempted murder and possession of a weapon during the commission of a violent crime (Source: Live 5 News)
New affidavit released in Charleston shooting
Officers initially responded to the business at 5:55 p.m for a report of shots being fired. When officers got to the location they found a man inside the store suffering from a gunshot wound.
Officers found the clerk, identified as Yousef, and detained him. Yousef then requested an attorney when he was transported to Charleston police headquarters.
Investigators obtained surveillance video which they say showed the victim entering the store, browsing for a brief period, then encountering the clerk while attempting to buy something at the counter.
A verbal altercation occurred between the clerk and the victim during which the clerk took out a “bat-like object capable of producing an electric arc,” read a statement from arrest affidavits.
Authorities said the altercation continued with the clerk putting down the object and getting a metal blade with tape around the end of it and brandishing it towards the victim while gesturing toward the door.
According to the incident report, the video showed the victim spitting towards the clerk, and the victim walking towards the door while the clerk put down the blade and got a gun.
The clerk then followed the victim towards the door while pointing the gun towards the victim’s back, according to affidavits. Authorities said the victim left the door with the clerk following behind, still pointing the gun.
Officers responding to the shooting at Green’s Grocery store on 167 President Street in downtown Charleston. (Source: Live 5 News)
“Once the victim exits the door and is no longer in the business, the defendant continues to point the firearm at him while holding the door open with his right foot,” the affidavit stated.
According to court records, the clerk continued to point the gun at the victim who at this time was outside of the business while a verbal altercation continued.
Authorities said as the victim moved from “right to left” around the outside of the doorway, the clerk appeared to fire a round in the direction of the victim which did not strike him. A witness said they saw the clerk fire the round towards the victim who was outside of the business.
The report states the victim then ran towards the clerk who was pushed backward into the store.
Police said the clerk then stepped aside and appeared to continue to fire rounds from the gun until the victim suffered a gunshot wound and fell to the ground. Five cartridge casings were recovered from the area where the gun was fired, investigators reported.
Police responding to the crime scene at a grocery store in Charleston where a man was shot in the head following an altercation. (Source: Live 5 News)
Officers initially responded to Green's Grocery store for a report of shots being fired. When officers got to the location they found a man inside the store suffering from a gunshot wound. (Source: Live 5 News)
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