The police in Renton, Washington, have charged Aaron Brown Myers with the second-degree murder of teenager Hazrat Ali Rohani following an altercation in a sporting goods store parking lot last week.
Seventeen-year-old Rohani and two of his friends were reportedly returning a faulty airsoft BB gun to the Big 5 Sporting Goods store on Grady Way in the Seatle suburb when they were approached by Myers.
The 51-year-old Myers later told the police that he is a licensed security guard and believed the teenage boys had a real Glock handgun and were about to commit a robbery.
Myers pointed his gun at the three teenagers and ordered them to surrender.
The police said surveillance footage showed Rohani and his friends complying with Myers’s commands; they threw down the airsoft gun and put their hands up.
Rohani and his friends repeatedly told Myers the gun wasn’t real and that they were only trying to return it to the store.
Aaron Brown Myers alleged to have shot teenager Hazrat Ali Rohani 7 times
The police allege that Myers escalated the situation by pinning one of the boys to the ground. At this point, Rohani attempted to back away from the confrontation but was shot seven times by Myers.
Watch the Latest on our YouTube ChannelRohani was hit once in the side and six times in the back. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
Myers told the cops he believed Rohani was reaching for a gun in his waistband. Surveillance footage did allegedly show Rohani’s empty hand lowering a bit as he backed off.
The alleged shooter’s son was attending a martial arts class nearby, and Myers claimed he had seen a number of crimes in the parking lot, so he took it upon himself to watch over the area. He claimed he had “a duty to intervene.”
Renton cops say Aaron Brown Myers had no authority to intervene
The police stressed that Myers did not have authority to guard the parking lot, is not a law enforcement official, and has had no training “in how to safely prevent crime.”
Court documents state that Myers could have dialed 911 and should have waited for evidence “that could confirm or deny his assumption.” Prosecutors claim Myers chose to escalate the situation “with more and more violence.”
On his arrest, Myers was reportedly distraught and crying and had to be given a trash can to vomit into.
Myers’s attorney told reporters, “Mr. Myers and his family are devastated by this tragedy and the fact that it resulted in the loss of a young man’s life. On the evening in question, Mr. Myers sincerely believed that he was witnessing the beginning of an armed robbery. Unfortunately, during the confrontation, Mr. Myers became in fear for his own life and fired his duty weapon to defend himself.”
In March 2022, Myers was alleged to have followed an individual through three stores because he believed they were about to commit a crime, and he may have had to intervene. Thankfully, real law enforcement intervened on that occasion.
Myers is facing charges of second-degree and second-degree assault. He is being held in custody under a $2 million bail and is scheduled to be arraigned on June 24.