The owner of a Virginia smoke shop is outraged with local officials after one of his employees was arrested and held without bond for allegedly shooting at three intruders.
Hamzeh Abushariah, 33, was temporarily staying at the Arlington Smoke Shop, where he also works, when three masked intruders broke in before 5 a.m. to steal cash and merchandise, according to Arlington County Police. Abushariah grabbed a gun the owner bought to protect the store from thieves amid the coronavirus pandemic and shot at the intruders.
According to police, he “opened the door to the sales floor and discharged the weapon, striking one juvenile subject. The employee retreated to the back room but reentered the sales floor and discharged his weapon again as the subjects were attempting to flee the business.”
The shop’s owner, Jowan Aqrawi, joined Tucker Carlson on Fox News Tuesday night and expressed how furious he is that his employee has been held in jail for three days without bond.
“It’s very sad for America today as American citizens practice their Second Amendment to protect the store and their lives,” the owner said. “Do you know what the police officer told [Abushariah]? ‘Why didn’t you run out the back door?'”
He added, “The cops treated us like we were the ones that caused the harm. This is very sad for America today.”
Abushariah is still in jail and fainted in court Wednesday due to diabetes, Carlson said in an update Wednesday night.
“This is very sad,” the store owner told Carlson. “I was born in Arlington. I pay taxes. The gun is registered, and everything is perfect. But I can’t believe as American citizens we are being treated like this. And this gets the criminals out there [thinking], ‘We can go rob stuff, kill people, and hurt people and guess what, people have to run out the back door.’ This is mind-boggling.”
Abushariah was charged with malicious wounding, reckless handling of a firearm, and violation of a protective order. If convicted, he could be sent to prison for more than two decades. The juvenile who was shot is expected to survive, while the other two suspects fled before cops arrived.
The Arlington County Police Department is still investigating the situation and said “additional charges related to the breaking and entering are anticipated at a later date.”
