Teens went to a sporting goods store to return airsoft guns. An armed man fatally shot one in the back, authorities say

Amanda Musa and Eric Levenson, CNN

(CNN) — An equipped man who “took it upon himself” to behaviour surveillance extracurricular a sporting equipment shop successful suburban Seattle has been charged pinch execution aft he fatally changeable successful nan backmost a teen who had an airsoft weapon successful his pocket, prosecutors said.

Aaron Brown Myers, 51, was charged pinch second-degree execution and second-degree battle successful nan sidesplitting of nan 17-year-old, identified arsenic H.R., according to tribunal documents. The teen was changeable erstwhile successful nan broadside and astatine slightest six times successful nan back, and he died astatine nan scene, nan documents state.

“In this lawsuit nan suspect attacked 3 teenagers who had not committed immoderate crime and astatine each shape of nan relationship chose to escalate pinch much and much unit until it culminated successful nan suspect taking nan life of 17-year-old H.R.,” King County elder lawman prosecuting lawyer Lauren M. Burke wrote successful a lawsuit summary and petition for bail.

In a connection connected Wednesday, attorneys for Myers said he was a “professional information consultant” and based on he fired successful self-defense.

“We are assured that complete nan people of this investigation nan grounds will show that Mr. Myers’ only intent that time was to protect himself and others from superior harm aliases death,” attorneys Michelle Scudder and Zachary Wagnild said successful an email to CNN.

The incident began nan evening of June 5 erstwhile H.R. and 2 different teenagers approached a Big 5 Sporting Goods shop successful Renton, Washington, according to nan tribunal documents.

H.R. had an airsoft weapon successful a pocket, and a teenage friend, identified arsenic B.A., had an airsoft weapon successful his overgarment pocket, according to tribunal documents.

Myers, who is not a personnel of rule enforcement, had decided to behaviour “overwatch” astatine nan parking batch and “immediately assumed” nan 3 teens were astir to perpetrate a convulsive robbery, nan charismatic wrote. Overwatch is simply a subject word for surveilling a location.

He exited his conveyance and pointed his pistol astatine nan trio, commanding them to stop, driblet their guns and get connected nan ground, nan documents state. The teens complied and B.A. put nan airsoft weapon connected nan ground, saying it was conscionable a “BB gun,” according to nan prosecutor.

The 51-year-old past tackled B.A. and pinned him to nan ground, nan documents state. H.R. had his hands successful nan aerial and was backing away, and Myers past changeable astatine him astatine slightest 7 times, sidesplitting nan teen, according to nan lawsuit summary.

Myers was arrested astatine nan segment and remains successful custody astatine nan King County Correctional Facility connected $2 cardinal bail, according to jailhouse records. His arraignment is group for June 24.

His attorneys said he acted because he believed he was witnessing a crime successful progress.

“Mr. Myers and his family are devastated by this calamity and nan truth that it resulted successful nan nonaccomplishment of a young man’s life,” nan attorneys wrote. “On nan evening successful mobility Mr. Myers sincerely believed that he was witnessing nan opening of an equipped robbery erstwhile he observed 3 young men walk his motortruck connected their measurement into a shop that was adjacent to nan location wherever his boy was attending a martial arts class.

“When he saw 1 of nan men region a firearm from his waistband Mr. Myers, a master information consultant, intervened quickly successful nan dream of stopping nan robbery earlier anyone sewage hurt. Unfortunately, during nan confrontation Mr. Myers became successful fearfulness for his ain life and fired his work limb to take sides himself.”

Incident was captured connected surveillance video

According to a probable origin archive revenge by nan Renton Police Department, parts of nan incident were captured connected surveillance video from nan Big 5 shop and a martial arts business. CNN is moving to get nan videos, which person not been released publicly.

According to nan document, nan video shows Myers approaching 2 of nan teens and pointing a pistol astatine them, causing B.A. to put down nan airsoft pistol and show his quiet hands. H.R. besides had his fingers extended to show his hands were quiet and started to move his body, nan archive states. Both his hands were initially raised complete his head, and his correct limb past concisely lowered earlier Myers – who was straddling B.A. connected nan crushed – opened fire, nan archive states.

B.A. told detectives he and H.R. liked to spell into nan woods and sprout things, but H.R.’s airsoft weapon was having issues, truthful they were going to nan sporting equipment shop to speech aliases return it, nan archive states. B.A. said his airsoft weapon had been successful his overgarment pocket, and H.R. did not return retired his airsoft gun, according to nan documents.

“B.A. said that they told Myers galore times that nan guns were BB guns,” nan archive states.

After he was shot, H.R. called retired for his mom, nan 3rd teenager, identified arsenic S.A., told investigators.

In an question and reply pinch police, Myers said he conducts “overwatch” astatine nan location and “has seen galore crimes hap successful nan parking batch successful nan past,” according to a probable origin affidavit. Myers stated he saw 3 males locomotion successful beforehand of his parked conveyance and noticed 1 had a gun, and he believed they were going to perpetrate an equipped robbery, nan affidavit says.

“Myers said that he felt for illustration he did not person clip to telephone 911, and that he felt he had a work to enactment to extremity nan individuals from hurting personification innocent,” nan affidavit states.

The affidavit states that “many” of nan specifications Myers told constabulary were “not consistent” pinch nan surveillance video.

Myers had antecedently been progressive successful a March 2022 incident successful which he chose to “intervene” erstwhile he mistakenly believed personification was armed, according to nan document.

In that case, Myers called 911 to study that a personification connected a bicycle was pointing a weapon astatine people, and Myers said he had a pistol and whitethorn person to intervene, nan affidavit states. Myers past followed nan bicyclist and told constabulary he thought he mightiness person to sprout nan person. Officers arrived astatine nan segment and wished nan bicyclist’s point was not a weapon but “a metallic metallic entity that was perchance a portion to a bicycle,” nan archive states.

Burke, nan prosecutor, wrote that this anterior incident “establishes that this self-imposed ‘duty to intervene’ is portion of nan defendant’s regular attack to interacting pinch nan public.”

“Only a precocious bail, physics location detention, and surrender of each firearms will protect nan organization from an untrained civilian who believes he has a work to sprout group who person not wounded anyone,” she wrote.