Inset: Abdulla Monther (Broward County Sheriff”s Office). Background: The gas station where Monther works in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. (Google Maps).
A Florida man was recently arrested after a shooting at a gas station “over the price of beer,” Sunshine State police say.
Abdulla Monther, 46, stands accused of one count of aggravated battery, according to Broward County Sheriff’s Office records.
The incident occurred at a Valero gas station in Fort Lauderdale, where Monther works as a clerk, a criminal complaint affidavit shows.
Law enforcement, in fact, were greeted by the defendant who allegedly told them “he had a verbal altercation with a customer” which ultimately “led to the shooting,” the affidavit says.
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On June 19, at 11:40 p.m., deputies arrived in response to calls about a shooting. Witness accounts provided the basic narrative.
“Monther, while working as the on-duty clerk, got into an argument with [the customer] over the price of a beer,” the affidavit reads. “During the argument, [the customer] threw an unknown small object, possibly a piece of paper, toward the clerk. In response, Monther retrieved a firearm from under the counter and discharged it towards [the customer] striking him in the right calf muscle.”
The affidavit says surveillance footage provided by the store’s manager more or less substantiated what the witnesses said about the shooting.
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“Surveillance footage from the gas station, voluntarily provided to law enforcement by the store manager, corroborated these accounts,” the affidavit goes on. “The video captured the moment of the argument, after which Monther retrieved a black firearm, racked the slide, and fired it in the direction where [the customer] was standing.”
The sheriff’s office alleges Monther taunted the victim after the violence.
“Right after the shooting, Monther stated, ‘P– ass N–’ [and] went around the counter to follow the victim still holding a firearm in his hand,” the affidavit continues.
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The defendant was later Mirandized and offered several details about the precise contours of the argument about the beer price.
From the affidavit, at length:
[Monther] stated that he was involved in an argument with a customer over an additional fifty cents needed to purchase a beer. During this disagreement, the victim grabbed several packs of “Now and Later” candies and pushed them toward the clerk, saying, “I am going to kill you. You are going to die here tonight.” [Monther] indicated that the victim was loud and aggressive, which made him feel uncomfortable. As a result, [Monther] pulled out a 9mm Sig Sauer P226 … and fired at the victim, striking him in the calf. [Monther] claimed that he intentionally aimed the firearm at the floor in an effort to avoid hitting the victim directly.
After the interview, another deputy performed a sweep of the gas station and recovered the gun allegedly used in the shooting as well as one bullet and a magazine near where the altercation occurred, according to the affidavit.
Monther was subsequently arrested.
He was initially jailed in the Broward County Jail but posted $10,000 bond on Monday and has since been released, court records show.
