FAST FACTS:
16 year old Demetrius Moore was shot one time in the leg outside In and Out Grocery
Clerk Majdi Morshed charged with aggravated assault
Employees and customers say the store is a magnet for gang members who hang around out front and scare customers
(MEMPHIS 8/17/2010) The people were hanging out front again. There are always folks loitering around the In and Out Grocery in North Memphis. There are plenty of no loitering signs around, clerks constantly come out of the store to tell folks to leave, but they don't. So on Monday night, store employee Majdi Morshed took his .45 caliber handgun out with him to try and scare the young crowd away. Something went wrong, and witnesses say Morshed fired one shot and hit 16 year old Demetrius Moore in the leg. Moore was taken to the hospital and will be ok.
"There would have to be a reason for him to shoot him," said Morshed's cousin, Ahmed Halim. He says the crowds of young people in front of the store causes huge problems for him and other employees and customers. "They are always a headache," Halim said. "They give me a hard time. I keep calling the police, but once they leave, they come back again."
The In and Out was a busy place during the noon hour. There were a few who didn't want to talk about what happened. Those that did say they understood why Morshed got upset. As a man who called himself "Rockin Jeff" let us see where he was stabbed last Memorial Day, he talked about the incident. "It gets rough here. The school kids were fighting out front here just before the shooting." Cab Driver William Ross came to the store just after the shooting. "This man is running a business," Ross said. "If someone does wrong, and then comes back and brags about it, you need to expect what happened to happen."
The people continued to line up and buy drinks, snacks, beer. It seemed to be a typical day at the In and Out Grocery, even though it wasn't. Majdi Morshed was being held with no bond at the Shelby County Jail, and his cousin was still upset. "Ask around," he said, "everybody knows him. He gives people credit, you know? We have a business. We're not here to make trouble."
16 year old Demetrius Moore was shot one time in the leg outside In and Out Grocery
Clerk Majdi Morshed charged with aggravated assault
Employees and customers say the store is a magnet for gang members who hang around out front and scare customers
(MEMPHIS 8/17/2010) The people were hanging out front again. There are always folks loitering around the In and Out Grocery in North Memphis. There are plenty of no loitering signs around, clerks constantly come out of the store to tell folks to leave, but they don't. So on Monday night, store employee Majdi Morshed took his .45 caliber handgun out with him to try and scare the young crowd away. Something went wrong, and witnesses say Morshed fired one shot and hit 16 year old Demetrius Moore in the leg. Moore was taken to the hospital and will be ok.
"There would have to be a reason for him to shoot him," said Morshed's cousin, Ahmed Halim. He says the crowds of young people in front of the store causes huge problems for him and other employees and customers. "They are always a headache," Halim said. "They give me a hard time. I keep calling the police, but once they leave, they come back again."
The In and Out was a busy place during the noon hour. There were a few who didn't want to talk about what happened. Those that did say they understood why Morshed got upset. As a man who called himself "Rockin Jeff" let us see where he was stabbed last Memorial Day, he talked about the incident. "It gets rough here. The school kids were fighting out front here just before the shooting." Cab Driver William Ross came to the store just after the shooting. "This man is running a business," Ross said. "If someone does wrong, and then comes back and brags about it, you need to expect what happened to happen."
The people continued to line up and buy drinks, snacks, beer. It seemed to be a typical day at the In and Out Grocery, even though it wasn't. Majdi Morshed was being held with no bond at the Shelby County Jail, and his cousin was still upset. "Ask around," he said, "everybody knows him. He gives people credit, you know? We have a business. We're not here to make trouble."
