Detroit gas station sued over locked doors in triple-shooting

One of the surviving victims in a May 6 triple shooting at a Detroit gas station has filed a lawsuit against the business, accusing its owners of negligence after a clerk locked patrons inside the store during an argument with the suspected gunman over less than $4.

Anthony Bowden, 60, was trying to escape the Mobil gas station on West McNichols Road, near the Lodge Freeway, when he was shot multiple times, according to the lawsuit filed by attorneys James Harrington and Jennifer Damico of Fieger Law Firm.

The suspected gunman, Samuel McCray, 27, was charged with first-degree murder, along with felonious assault and firearm offenses. The clerk Al-Hassan Aiyash, 22, was later charged with involuntary manslaughter for locking the victims inside in an attempt to prevent theft as the gunman threatened violence.

Bowden suffered a gunshot to the back of each thigh and another to his buttocks, the lawsuit states. McCray ran toward Bowden after unleashing his rounds, putting Bowden in further distress, according to the lawsuit.

Bowden underwent surgery and experienced "tremendous mental fright, anguish, distress and shock," according to the lawsuit, along with "horrific physical pain with associated fear of serious injury and death, difficulty breathing, racing heart beat and emotional torture."

The lawsuit alleges the Mobil gas station, owned by ExxonMobil Corporation and, locally, SMM Investment, Inc., was negligent in not properly training the clerk working that evening. Ali Dagher, a lawyer representing the business, has said previously that the clerk had started working for the gas station just days prior.

“Locking three innocent people inside of building with a person threatening to shoot them over $4.00 shows a complete disregard for human life over profit. This store clerk was obviously trained to lock the door and protect the gas station’s assets at all costs," Harrington wrote in a news release.

Business owners had entrusted Aiyash to run the store the night of the shooting, the lawsuit states, but did not properly vet or train the clerk.

Attorneys for Bowden argue in the lawsuit that Aiyash acted so reckless that injury was likely to result.

They argued Aiyash failed to de-escalate the situation; failed to lock the doors before three other patrons entered; failed to timely contact law enforcement; failed to unlock the doors after McCray threatened violence; failed to allow the gunman to leave with $4, and failed to allow the victims to take cover behind the clerk's counter, which is covered by protective glass.

The lawsuit, filed May 16 in Wayne County Circuit Court, seeks compensation for injuries and damages in excess of $25,000.

Dagher said he just received the complaint Monday and intends to respond and vigorously defend his client.

An attorney for Aiyash, Jamil Khuja, said last week the criminal charge against his client is a reach by the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office and Detroit police.

"Their theory is to hold him responsible, criminally responsible for the intentional crime that's committed by somebody else who he does not know," Khuja said. "I've never seen this before."

More: Gas station clerk charged with manslaughter for locking doors before customers shot

More: Charging gas station clerk who locked doors in Detroit shooting a stretch, lawyer argues

About 3 a.m. on May 6, McCray attempted to make a purchase at the gas station when his card was declined and he erupted in anger and threatened violence, according to prosecutors and video footage of the shooting.

Then the argument between McCray and Aiyash ensued, and Aiyash locked the doors electronically in an attempt to prevent McCray from stealing.

The clerk eventually did unlock the doors, but Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy said he did so too late, without telling anyone.

Despite patrons in the station repeatedly pleading to Aiyash to be let out, the door remained locked for several minutes.

Video footage of the incident from behind the clerk's counter, reviewed by the Free Press, shows Aiyash had told patrons in the store to get out after unlocking the door several minutes into the dispute. But McCray soon gunned down the three victims.

Gregory Karlos Fortner-Kelly, 37, of Detroit, was killed. Bowden and David Langston, 37, were shot and survived.

Andrea Sahouri covers criminal justice for the Detroit Free Press. She can be contacted at 313-264-0442, asahouri@freepress.com or on Twitter @andreamsahouri.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit gas station sued over locked doors in triple-shooting