Robert Portal
2024-06-13 08:30:38 UTC
An armed man who âtook it upon himselfâ to conduct surveillance outside a
sporting goods store in suburban Seattle has been charged with murder after
he fatally shot in the back a teenager who had an airsoft gun in his pocket,
prosecutors said.
Aaron Brown Myers, 51, was charged with second-degree murder and second-
degree assault in the killing of the 17-year-old, identified as H.R.,
according to court documents. The teen was shot once in the side and at
least six times in the back, and he died at the scene, the documents state.
âIn this case the defendant attacked three teenagers who had not committed
any crime and at every stage of the interaction chose to escalate with more
and more violence until it culminated in the defendant taking the life of
17-year-old H.R.,â King County senior deputy prosecuting attorney Lauren M.
Burke wrote in a case summary and request for bail.
In a statement on Wednesday, attorneys for Myers said he was a âprofessional
security consultantâ and argued he fired in self-defense.
âWe are confident that over the course of this investigation the evidence
will show that Mr. Myersâ only intent that day was to protect himself and
others from serious harm or death,â attorneys Michelle Scudder and Zachary
Wagnild said in an email to CNN.
The incident began the evening of June 5 when H.R. and two other teenagers
approached a Big 5 Sporting Goods store in Renton, Washington, according to
the court documents.
H.R. had an airsoft gun in a pocket, and a teenage friend, identified as
B.A., had an airsoft gun in his coat pocket, according to court documents.
Myers, who is not a member of law enforcement, had decided to conduct
âoverwatchâ at the parking lot and âimmediately assumedâ the three teens
were about to commit a violent robbery, the prosecutor wrote. Overwatch is a
military term for surveilling a location.
He exited his vehicle and pointed his pistol at the trio, commanding them to
stop, drop their guns and get on the ground, the documents state. The teens
complied and B.A. put the airsoft gun on the ground, saying it was just a
âBB gun,â according to the prosecutor.
The 51-year-old then tackled B.A. and pinned him to the ground, the
documents state. H.R. had his hands in the air and was backing away, and
Myers then shot at him at least seven times, killing the teen, according to
the case summary.
Myers was arrested at the scene and remains in custody at the King County
Correctional Facility on $2 million bail, according to jail records. His
arraignment is set for June 24.
His attorneys said he acted because he believed he was witnessing a crime in
progress.
âMr. Myers and his family are devastated by this tragedy and the fact that
it resulted in the loss of a young manâs life,â the attorneys wrote. âOn the
evening in question Mr. Myers sincerely believed that he was witnessing the
beginning of an armed robbery when he observed three young men pass his
truck on their way into a store that was adjacent to the location where his
son was attending a martial arts class.
âWhen he saw one of the men remove a firearm from his waistband Mr. Myers, a
professional security consultant, intervened quickly in the hope of stopping
the robbery before anyone got hurt. Unfortunately, during the confrontation
Mr. Myers became in fear for his own life and fired his duty weapon to
defend himself.â
Incident was captured on surveillance video
According to a probable cause document filed by the Renton Police
Department, parts of the incident were captured on surveillance video from
the Big 5 store and a martial arts business. CNN is working to obtain the
videos, which have not been released publicly.
According to the document, the video shows Myers approaching two of the
teens and pointing a pistol at them, causing B.A. to put down the airsoft
pistol and show his empty hands. H.R. also had his fingers extended to show
his hands were empty and started to turn his body, the document states. Both
his hands were initially raised over his head, and his right arm then
briefly lowered before Myers â who was straddling B.A. on the ground â
opened fire, the document states.
B.A. told detectives he and H.R. liked to go into the woods and shoot
things, but H.R.âs airsoft gun was having issues, so they were going to the
sporting goods store to exchange or return it, the document states. B.A.
said his airsoft gun had been in his coat pocket, and H.R. did not take out
his airsoft gun, according to the documents.
âB.A. said that they told Myers numerous times that the guns were BB guns,â
the document states.
After he was shot, H.R. called out for his mom, the third teenager,
identified as S.A., told investigators.
In an interview with police, Myers said he conducts âoverwatchâ at the
location and âhas seen numerous crimes occur in the parking lot in the
past,â according to a probable cause affidavit. Myers stated he saw three
males walk in front of his parked vehicle and noticed one had a gun, and he
believed they were going to commit an armed robbery, the affidavit says.
âMyers said that he felt like he did not have time to call 911, and that he
felt he had a duty to act to stop the individuals from hurting someone
innocent,â the affidavit states.
The affidavit states that âmanyâ of the details Myers told police were ânot
consistentâ with the surveillance video.
Myers had previously been involved in a March 2022 incident in which he
chose to âinterveneâ when he mistakenly believed someone was armed,
according to the document.
In that case, Myers called 911 to report that a person on a bicycle was
pointing a gun at people, and Myers said he had a pistol and may have to
intervene, the affidavit states. Myers then followed the bicyclist and told
police he thought he might have to shoot the person. Officers arrived at the
scene and determined the bicyclistâs item was not a gun but âa silver metal
object that was possibly a part to a bicycle,â the document states.
Burke, the prosecutor, wrote that this prior incident âestablishes that this
self-imposed âduty to interveneâ is part of the defendantâs regular approach
to interacting with the public.â
âOnly a high bail, electronic home detention, and surrender of all firearms
will protect the community from an untrained civilian who believes he has a
duty to shoot people who have not hurt anyone,â she wrote.
https://www.cnn.com/2024/06/12/us/big-5-sporting-goods-shooting-
washington/index.html
sporting goods store in suburban Seattle has been charged with murder after
he fatally shot in the back a teenager who had an airsoft gun in his pocket,
prosecutors said.
Aaron Brown Myers, 51, was charged with second-degree murder and second-
degree assault in the killing of the 17-year-old, identified as H.R.,
according to court documents. The teen was shot once in the side and at
least six times in the back, and he died at the scene, the documents state.
âIn this case the defendant attacked three teenagers who had not committed
any crime and at every stage of the interaction chose to escalate with more
and more violence until it culminated in the defendant taking the life of
17-year-old H.R.,â King County senior deputy prosecuting attorney Lauren M.
Burke wrote in a case summary and request for bail.
In a statement on Wednesday, attorneys for Myers said he was a âprofessional
security consultantâ and argued he fired in self-defense.
âWe are confident that over the course of this investigation the evidence
will show that Mr. Myersâ only intent that day was to protect himself and
others from serious harm or death,â attorneys Michelle Scudder and Zachary
Wagnild said in an email to CNN.
The incident began the evening of June 5 when H.R. and two other teenagers
approached a Big 5 Sporting Goods store in Renton, Washington, according to
the court documents.
H.R. had an airsoft gun in a pocket, and a teenage friend, identified as
B.A., had an airsoft gun in his coat pocket, according to court documents.
Myers, who is not a member of law enforcement, had decided to conduct
âoverwatchâ at the parking lot and âimmediately assumedâ the three teens
were about to commit a violent robbery, the prosecutor wrote. Overwatch is a
military term for surveilling a location.
He exited his vehicle and pointed his pistol at the trio, commanding them to
stop, drop their guns and get on the ground, the documents state. The teens
complied and B.A. put the airsoft gun on the ground, saying it was just a
âBB gun,â according to the prosecutor.
The 51-year-old then tackled B.A. and pinned him to the ground, the
documents state. H.R. had his hands in the air and was backing away, and
Myers then shot at him at least seven times, killing the teen, according to
the case summary.
Myers was arrested at the scene and remains in custody at the King County
Correctional Facility on $2 million bail, according to jail records. His
arraignment is set for June 24.
His attorneys said he acted because he believed he was witnessing a crime in
progress.
âMr. Myers and his family are devastated by this tragedy and the fact that
it resulted in the loss of a young manâs life,â the attorneys wrote. âOn the
evening in question Mr. Myers sincerely believed that he was witnessing the
beginning of an armed robbery when he observed three young men pass his
truck on their way into a store that was adjacent to the location where his
son was attending a martial arts class.
âWhen he saw one of the men remove a firearm from his waistband Mr. Myers, a
professional security consultant, intervened quickly in the hope of stopping
the robbery before anyone got hurt. Unfortunately, during the confrontation
Mr. Myers became in fear for his own life and fired his duty weapon to
defend himself.â
Incident was captured on surveillance video
According to a probable cause document filed by the Renton Police
Department, parts of the incident were captured on surveillance video from
the Big 5 store and a martial arts business. CNN is working to obtain the
videos, which have not been released publicly.
According to the document, the video shows Myers approaching two of the
teens and pointing a pistol at them, causing B.A. to put down the airsoft
pistol and show his empty hands. H.R. also had his fingers extended to show
his hands were empty and started to turn his body, the document states. Both
his hands were initially raised over his head, and his right arm then
briefly lowered before Myers â who was straddling B.A. on the ground â
opened fire, the document states.
B.A. told detectives he and H.R. liked to go into the woods and shoot
things, but H.R.âs airsoft gun was having issues, so they were going to the
sporting goods store to exchange or return it, the document states. B.A.
said his airsoft gun had been in his coat pocket, and H.R. did not take out
his airsoft gun, according to the documents.
âB.A. said that they told Myers numerous times that the guns were BB guns,â
the document states.
After he was shot, H.R. called out for his mom, the third teenager,
identified as S.A., told investigators.
In an interview with police, Myers said he conducts âoverwatchâ at the
location and âhas seen numerous crimes occur in the parking lot in the
past,â according to a probable cause affidavit. Myers stated he saw three
males walk in front of his parked vehicle and noticed one had a gun, and he
believed they were going to commit an armed robbery, the affidavit says.
âMyers said that he felt like he did not have time to call 911, and that he
felt he had a duty to act to stop the individuals from hurting someone
innocent,â the affidavit states.
The affidavit states that âmanyâ of the details Myers told police were ânot
consistentâ with the surveillance video.
Myers had previously been involved in a March 2022 incident in which he
chose to âinterveneâ when he mistakenly believed someone was armed,
according to the document.
In that case, Myers called 911 to report that a person on a bicycle was
pointing a gun at people, and Myers said he had a pistol and may have to
intervene, the affidavit states. Myers then followed the bicyclist and told
police he thought he might have to shoot the person. Officers arrived at the
scene and determined the bicyclistâs item was not a gun but âa silver metal
object that was possibly a part to a bicycle,â the document states.
Burke, the prosecutor, wrote that this prior incident âestablishes that this
self-imposed âduty to interveneâ is part of the defendantâs regular approach
to interacting with the public.â
âOnly a high bail, electronic home detention, and surrender of all firearms
will protect the community from an untrained civilian who believes he has a
duty to shoot people who have not hurt anyone,â she wrote.
https://www.cnn.com/2024/06/12/us/big-5-sporting-goods-shooting-
washington/index.html