Scratch Another Good Guy

Nail Mahmoud died this morning.

Mahmoud's case has drawn some attention because last month, he and his brother broke up a robbery at their convenience store in suburban Apple Valley, Minnesota:

Mahmoud refused to open the safe, and he and his brother, Norman, struggled with the two men. During the struggle, the weapon, which turned out to be a BB gun, fell to the floor. The two men fled, and police were called.

Someone else came to the store on Monday evening:

A customer found Mahmoud of Burnsville lying behind the counter of the Quick Stop 66 convenience store at 213 County Road 42 in Apple Valley about 10:30 p.m. Monday. Mahmoud had been shot in the head.

The story didn't mention whether anything was taken in Monday's robbery, but it did drop in this bit here:

Monday was not the first time Mahmoud had had trouble at the store, but police said they do not believe the shooting was tied to a July 24 incident...

...which was the robbery the Mahmouds resisted.

I know - the police have their reasons for saying and not saying what they do.

But in placid Apple Valley - a beige-and-tan bedroom 'burb that could easily serve as the filming location for a suburban parody movie - the notion that the same guy in the same store could get randomly hit twice inside a month beggars my Saint Paulite imagination. (Apple Valleyites, please stop me if I'm wrong, and County Road 42 has turned into a mean street). While few details are available, it just doesn't pass the smell test to me.

My condolences to the Mahmoud family.

Posted by Mitch at August 3, 2005 12:22 PM | TrackBack