Detroit Clerk Who Locked Door Prior to Customers Being Shot to Stand Trial

A Detroit gas station clerk has been ordered by a judge to stand trial for involuntary manslaughter. The judge stated that the clerk’s decision to lock the door and provoke an angry customer contributed to the fatal shooting of a bystander.

Judge Kenneth King found enough evidence to move the case to trial, stating that the clerk, Al-Hassan Aiyash, “continued to pour gasoline on the fire.”

Aiyash, who was working behind protective glass at 3 a.m. on May 6, locked the door after a customer’s failed electronic purchase. Video footage shows the customer, Samuel McCray, becoming increasingly confrontational.

McCray threw a beverage against the security glass and demanded the door be opened, while two additional people entered the gas station. Two witnesses testified that McCray threatened to shoot everyone.

The judge emphasized the impact of Aiyash’s decision to lock the door, stating that if he hadn’t done so, the incident would not have occurred. Aiyash only unlocked the door moments before another customer, Greg Kelly, was fatally shot. Two others were injured.

During the trial, David Langston, one of the injured individuals, explained that he and Kelly were just trying to buy cigarettes after a night of partying. Langston pleaded with McCray not to shoot, playing dead to survive.

Anthony Bowden, another victim who visited the gas station to use the ATM, rated the conflict between McCray and Kelly as an eight out of ten before the shooting began.

The defense attorney acknowledged that Aiyash’s decision to lock the door and trap customers was wrong, but placed the blame for the fatal shooting on the heated exchange between McCray and Kelly.

McCray, separately, is facing charges of murder and attempted murder.