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Warren man, 22, killed in shooting at Atlantic Street market
By Ed Runyan
WARREN
A person of interest in a Monday night homicide at Atlantic Beverage was arrested Tuesday evening after a police pursuit.
Police said the man, who hadn’t been charged as of Tuesday evening, was the passenger in a vehicle that police pursued from Dunstan Bridge in the city to Karl Street in Warren Township where it crashed.
The driver and passenger both got out of the car and a police dog was deployed that bit the person of interest. He was taken to the hospital for treatment and was to be interviewed by police. The driver of the vehicle may face charges.
In the Monday murder, the manager of Atlantic Beverage says Khaled M. Nassar, 22, had gone to his car for a minute to turn it off — and found someone in the back seat. And with “no argument,” the guy shot Nassar once in the back and once in the abdomen, said Naser Judeh.
Nassar “came running back in, scared you know,” and an ambulance was called, Judeh said.
Nassar was still alive when the ambulance took him to ValleyCare Trumbull Memorial Hospital, but he later died.
Judeh said his 408 Atlantic St. NE business, which he has run for 12 months, had been peaceful until Sunday, when a 17-year-old man was shot in the elbow. Police issued a warrant Tuesday for 16-year-old Christopher Jackson of Warren Township in the Sunday night incident.
The next night, Nassar was killed. Police say they don’t know yet whether there’s a connection between the two incidents, but they are close to solving the first crime.
Police said Nassar, of Englesson Drive Northwest, was shot at 9:48 p.m.
The suspect or suspects got into Nassar’s vehicle, a 2007 GMC Yukon, and fled.
A Warren police officer spotted the vehicle and followed it, Lt. Jeff Cole, public information officer and officer in charge, said. At some point, someone in the car fired at the officer, but he was not hit, Cole said.
Warren police called for assistance in Lordstown, and help was received from the Trumbull County Sheriff’s Office and other departments. Officers used thermal-imaging equipment to search the area.
Cole said he could not offer a motive for the shooting.
The suspect or suspects bailed out of the vehicle in a field near Hewitt-Gifford Road in northern Lords-town and were not apprehended, Cole said.
Nassar was not employed by the store, but his family formerly owned it, Judeh said.
The store, at the corner of Atlantic and Vine streets, was formerly known as Christy’s Market. It has not had a recent history of violence, police said.
Contributor: Denise Dick