A Lauderhill convenience store owner's "stand your ground" defense was heard in court Friday afternoon, nearly two years after a Christmas Eve shooting landed him in jail.
According to an affidavit, 30-year-old Saf Ahmad was arrested after firing an AK-47 during an altercation with an angry customer at the Kwick Pick convenience store in Lauderhill, Florida.
Police originally determined Ahmad was in no immediate threat after sifting through surveillance footage and interviewing both parties involved in the incident.
But, Ahmad's lawyer, Andrew Rier, says his client believed the customer had a grenade.
Ahmad told police that a customer entered the store and began making verbal threats. It was in relation to a fight that occurred earlier in the day where the store's employees beat up a friend of the customer, the report says.
Ahmad grabbed his handgun and asked the customer to leave. The customer left, but continued to make threats outside, the report says.
Surveillance video shows Ahmad and an employee holding their handguns outside the store before Ahmad runs back inside and returns with the AK-47, firing it.
Local
"He's trying to save lives, not end it," Rier says.
Ahmad is facing one charge of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon.
No decision was made after the hearing.
