Washington man charged with murder after shooting teen seven times

Lina Portman4 weeks ago

2 4 minutes read

A Washington man accused of killing a 17-year-old boy shot the teen at least six times in the back and had previously chased another innocent person in 2022, telling police he “maybe should shoot,” according to new details revealed. in court documents obtained Tuesday by USA TODAY.

Prosecutors on Monday charged Aaron Brown Myers, 51, with second-degree murder and assault following his confrontation with three teenagers in the Seattle suburb of Renton on June 5. Myers said he believed one of the teens had a “Glock”, suspected the boys were about to rob a Big 5 sporting goods store and that he “had a duty to act to prevent these individuals from harming an innocent person,” according to court records.

The boys actually owned airsoft guns and told police they were just taking them back to the Big 5.

Myers, who says he is a licensed security guard, was in the parking lot conducting what he says is “surveillance,” something he does while his 13-year-old son goes to a jujitsu class next door of the Big 5. He told police he had seen many crimes happen there in the past and just wanted to keep his son safe.

When Myers confronted the teens, he told police they ignored his orders to raise their hands and that he thought one of them was “going to kill him.” Police say surveillance video contradicts much of Myers' story.

Here's what we know.

Myers had previously followed and threatened to shoot someone

This is not the first time Myers wrongly perceived a threat to public safety, following a man from store to store in March 2022, telling police he thought the man had a weapon, records show judicial.

Myers then called 911, reporting that he saw the man, who was riding a bicycle, “pointing a gun at people,” according to court documents. Myers said he had a concealed gun and thought he might have to intervene, saying he “might have to shoot the person,” according to court records.

Officers responding to the scene discovered that the man was unarmed and that the object Myers believed to be a gun was actually a “silver metal object” that may have been a bicycle part.

Myers started his own Spokane-based security company, Midnight Sun Operations LLC, a year later, according to a Seattle Times report.

Myers is being held on bond and prosecutors warn he poses a threat

Myers' bail was set at $2 million after King County prosecutors argued that Myers could commit another “violent offense in the future.” The 2022 incident only proves that Myers' self-imposed “duty to intervene” is part of his usual approach to interacting with the public, Senior Assistant Prosecutor Lauren Burke wrote in a charging document obtained by USA TODAY.

“(Myers) attacked three teenagers who had committed no crime and, at each stage of the interaction, chose to escalate the violence until the defendant took his life,” Burke wrote . .

Only high bail, electronic house arrest and the surrender of all firearms will protect the community from an untrained civilian who believes he has a duty to shoot people who hurt no one, said Burke.

Teenager calls for his mother before collapsing to the ground

Hazrat Ali Rouhani and two friends were heading to Big 5 Sporting when Myers approached them with a gun in his hand. One of the friends placed his airsoft gun on the sidewalk and showed his hands at Myers, according to surveillance footage of the interaction described by police in court documents.

Myers pushes one of the boys to the ground, straddles him and holds him in place while he points the gun at Hazrat. Hazrat, who had an airsoft gun in his pocket, also shows his hands to Myers, the footage shows.

Hazrat begins to turn away from Myers, briefly lowering one of his raised arms toward his belt, at which point Myers opens fire, shooting the boy seven times, hitting him “once in the side and at least six times in the back”. ” Burke wrote in the charging document.

A King County sheriff's deputy in the area at the time witnessed the shooting, Burke wrote, although it's unclear why she didn't intervene. It was also unclear whether it was her or her partner who arrested Myers.

The two surviving teens told police they went to the store to return or exchange Hazrat's airsoft gun because he was having problems with it, according to the police report. One of the other boys had his own airsoft gun with him and had brought it so the employees could look at a “magazine issue” he was having.

The two friends said they repeatedly told Myers that the guns weren't real, but before they knew it, their friend had been shot. One of the friends said that when Hazrat hit the ground, he called for his mother before he died, Burke wrote.

'The only intention' was to protect himself and others from danger, Myers says

Myers and his family said they were “devastated” by the series of events that led to the tragedy and “resulted in the loss of a young man’s life,” according to a statement from his attorneys.

“Mr. Myers honestly believed he was witnessing the beginnings of an armed robbery when he saw three young men pass his truck as they headed toward a store adjacent to where his son was taking a class martial arts,” the statement said.

Myers, a “professional security consultant,” got involved in hopes of stopping a robbery before anyone was hurt. Myers echoed a similar sentiment expressed to police during the interview, telling them he “feared for his own life and fired his service weapon in self-defense.” He also said he did not have time to call 911 and that he “had a duty to act to prevent individuals from harming someone innocent,” Burke wrote.

Lina Portman

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