Questionable: Durham NC clerk says customer shooting was in self-defense

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Durham, N.C. — A Durham store clerk who shot a customer in the leg last week said Friday that he was only protecting himself after the customer threatened to kill him.

Alaael Ahmed El-Hamalawi, 52, said the man, whom police identified as John Reid Jr., walked into the University Market on West Chapel Hill Street, on April 30, yelling that he had a knife and was going to kill El-Hamalawi.

El-Hamalawi said Reid also struck him on the hand and broke a window with an electric drill that he had been swinging.

"If I (had not) ducked, he would have killed me that day," El-Hamalawi said.

He said he tried to push Reid out of the store, and then he got a gun, warned him and then shot him in the leg.

Durham clerk says customer shooting was in self-defense :: WRAL.com

No mention on the location of the gun but having to retrieve it prior to shooting may not bode well for El-Hamalawi.

[DefensiveCarry.com]