Teen tried to return BB gun and ended up dead

An off-duty security guard was charged with murder after authorities said he stopped three teenagers outside a store near Seattle because they had what he believed to be a gun, while he It was actually an airsoft gun. King County prosecutors charged Aaron Brown Myers on Monday with the second-degree murder of Hazrat Ali Rouhani, 17, outside a Big 5 sporting goods store in Renton, Washington, the AP reports. Myers, 51, also faces a second-degree assault charge after authorities say he held another teen at gunpoint. What happened:

• The three teens went to the store around 7:30 p.m. on June 5 to return a faulty airsoft gun, two of them later told police. They walked past Myers, who then told police that he had just been on duty as a “licensed” and “armed” security guard and was sitting in his vehicle waiting to pick up his son at a martial arts class. It is unclear where Myers works as a security guard.
• Myers told police he noticed a teen carrying what he believed to be a Glock handgun and thought he saw another teen put a gun in his waistband. Thinking he had to stop an armed robbery, Myers told police he didn't have time to call 911 and instead got out of the car with his gun pointed at the teens . Myers said he had “a duty to intervene,” prosecutors said.
• As Myers approached, one of the teens moved to the side and the other two stopped, raised their hands and one of them placed the airsoft gun on the sidewalk, repeating several times to Myers that it was a “BB gun” and not a firearm. Myers then pushed one of the boys to the sidewalk and straddled him while holding the back of his jacket, according to the probable cause document filed by Renton police. Myers continued to point the gun at Rouhani as he held his hands out in front of him, showing Myers they were empty, police said.
• Rouhani began to back away and turned slightly to the left and Myers opened fire, hitting the teen once on the right side and six times in the back. The video shows Rouhani holding his stomach as he falls to the ground, calling for his mother. The other teen ran for cover and called 911. Rouhani died at the scene and police immediately arrested Myers.

Myers, who also allegedly tried to intervene in what he thought was a crime (but also involved an unarmed person) in March 2022, says through his attorney that his “only intention that day was to protect oneself and others against serious risks. evil or death. »

(More Washington state stories.)