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South Avenue shop owner dies after shootout
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Youngstown police stand outside Reemas Fashion, a store at 2608 South Ave. at Indianola Avenue. Police said the store owner and a would-be robber exchanged gunfire Wednesday; the store owner died later Wednesday night.
By Joe Gorman and ROBERT CONNELLY
YOUNGSTOWN
A store owner has died, and a suspect is in custody in St. Elizabeth Youngstown Hospital after they exchanged gunfire in the store Wednesday afternoon.
The 29-year-old store owner, Abdullah Nagi Mahdi, suffered a gunshot wound to his head in the exchange, according to a city police spokesman. The suspect, 19-year-old Larry McDonald, was in surgery Wednesday night, according to Vindicator broadcast partner, 21 WFMJ-TV.
According to a police report, officers arrived at the store, Reemas Fashion, at 2608 South Ave., at 4:29 p.m. Wednesday on a robbery call. The report said the owner fired two shots at McDonald before he was struck by McDonald’s bullets.
Police found McDonald in a corner of the parking lot and witnesses identified him as the shooter. Officers had to “physically restrain numerous members of the victim’s family” as they were trying to enter the crime scene, the report states. An officer used pepper spray on one of those people who tried to grab an officer who was restraining another family member.
The same store had a break-in sometime between 9:30 p.m. Tuesday and 9:56 a.m Wednesday when an unknown intruder(s) stole various clothing, athletic shoes and several phones as well as an unknown amount of cash from the register. The alarm did not sound because the alarm cords were cut, according to the report. The rear security door was “extensively damaged” and all survelliance cameras were facing the ceiling with their wires cut.
Authorities found tire tracks from the store to a nearby driveway at a vacant home.
The police report said witnesses told police the suspect walked into the store and said, “I’ve got $200 to spend.” One of the store workers told the owner in Arabic that she believed that was said before a robbery at their Belmont Avenue store Tuesday, the report states. That same worker also believed she saw a gun on McDonald – at which point the victim grabbed his own gun and walked around the corner with the gun hidden behind his leg.
That is when the shooting began.
Chief of detectives, Capt. Brad Blackburn, said at the scene Wednesday that other customers were in the store during the shooting but none was injured.
Katara Joe, who lives nearby, rushed to the scene after she said she received a call from a friend who was in the store. She said the owner is a good man who helped her out recently when she could not pay her entire cellphone bill.
She said she finds it sad that someone would rob the man.
“I can’t believe that during the holiday season one person would try to take from someone who is working and trying to make a living,” Joe said.
Michael Anthony also lives nearby and watched officers and detectives inside the store. He said he spoke to the owner a few days ago when he came in for a new cellphone battery.
“I told him to be safe,” Anthony said.
The death represents the 17th homicide in Youngstown this year.