WARREN, OHIO — In a perfect example of irresponsibility with firearms, a man stands accused of killing two people and injuring three others during an altercation at his home in February. The man, 47-year-old Nasser Hamad, did something that no gun owner should ever do… or, to be more specific, he did something that no one should ever do.
In a family dispute, Hamad is said to have wanted to fight while talking with the other involved parties on social media. Letting them know that he’d like a brawl, five people arrived at his home in a van to do just that. In an affidavit released shortly after the incident, it detailed the accounts of what actually happened that afternoon.
From Tribune Chronicle;
A gold minivan with Florida license plates arrived. The occupants exited and a fist fight began between Hamad and 17-year-old John Shively, one of the gunshot victims. The fight ended and the five went back to their van, which was parked near the apex of the driveway.
According to witnesses, Hamad then went into his house to grab a 9mm handgun from his bedroom. The affidavit said Hamad told police, “I just shot them. I got tired of this (expletive). They have been (expletive) with me for a long time and they shouldn’t have come over.”
Hamad said he unloaded the entire magazine from the firearm. Witnesses said Hamad walked from his front porch to the passenger side of the van firing the gun.
Hamad told police he saw a knife in the van but didn’t see a gun, according to the affidavit.
After returning to the home to reload, Hamad then came back out and encountered an off-duty emergency medical technician who had pulled into the driveway after seeing what he thought was a traffic accident. In a recorded statement to investigators, the EMT said he saw one person bleeding from his mouth and thought that person was involved in an automobile crash.
The EMT grabbed his medical bag and saw Hamad approaching the van. When the EMT asked the man what happened, the affidavit said Hamad responded by saying “I’ll show you what happened” and saw the man reach between his legs appearing to rack a round into a gun. The EMT said the man then shot into the passenger side of the van toward the female driver. As the EMT driver got back into his vehicle, he told police he saw a man wearing pajama pants standing face to face with the shooter right in front of the van’s sliding door.
The EMT heard the man say “you shot my mom (expletive).” The two men did not engage in any physical confrontation, but the affidavit states the man with the gun then pointed it at the man in pajama pants, who was scrambling to get back into the van. The shooter fired three times.
The EMT said he drove his vehicle down the driveway, parked it and ran from the scene.
As the second round of gunfire went into the van, the affidavit states John Shively and Bryce Hendrickson ran away from the vehicle. Shively ran south down the west side of state Route 46, while Hendrickson ran eastbound across all five lanes of traffic on the heavily traveled roadway. Hamad told investigators he was shooting at both men as they were running way.
Based upon numerous videos obtained in the investigation, many vehicles were traveling on Route 46 at the time of the shootings.
Police said the van had numerous bullet holes in it. As officers arrived at the scene, they saw Hamad near the front entrance of his home with a firearm in his hand. He walked into the home, and later came out unarmed with his hands up. Police later found the 9mm handgun, the affidavit states.
The affidavit states that as a police officer was escorting Hamad to a cruiser, they walked past victim Bryce Hendrickson and Hamad shouted at him “that’s what you get, you little (expletive)! How do you like that!”
What we have here is an altercation that should have never occurred in the first place. While Hamad is claiming self defense, that’s a stretch considering that he went back into his home to retrieve his pistol, and the fact that the van was about to leave when he came back outside with the pistol.
Let’s take the fact that Hamad wanted to fight out of the equation. If the five people showed up at his home and he came outside to go fist-to-fist, fine. Then, if he went back into his home and called police, that’d be great. THEN, if one or more of the five individuals tried to enter the home forcefully and Hamad displayed his firearm at that time, that’d be great as well. But instead, we have an angry Hamad who does the unthinkable and goes outside to shoot at people who are not a current threat to his life. It was pure anger and emotion that seems to have created this situation, and it’s a damn shame.
One of Hamad’s attorneys, Geoffrey Oglesby, claims that ethnicity is a factor in the charges filed against his client.
“It appears to be a situation of a person standing their ground, and the question is, can minorities stand their ground like other people? And it seems like when minorities stand their ground, they get charged,” he said. “And it appears to be, I hate to say it, based on his ethnicity in this particular case, and it’s truly unfortunate. But, we feel that he’ll be exonerated.”
Standing your ground inside your home is one thing, but going to get your firearm and then shooting at people inside a vehicle that looks to be leaving is a whole other story.
Nice try, defense attorney, but this is one man that should be held accountable for his hugely poor judgement.
Sit tight, because Hamad’s trial has been pushed back until September 18th.
