LAS VEGAS (AP) — Police said Tuesday that a Las Vegas smoke shop worker was arrested on a murder charge for fatally shooting an unarmed 13-year-old who ran into the shop to steal items last week.
Clerk Raad Sunna, 24, was arrested Monday night after police reviewed surveillance video from inside the smoke shop recorded during the Friday shooting and determined the man's life was not in danger, according to Lt. Dan McGrath.
McGrath, speaking at a Tuesday news conference, said 13-year-old Fabriccio Patti and two other teens, ages 14 and 15, were unarmed but wearing masks when they ran inside the Lucky Cigars and Smokes shop in West Las Vegas.
The three teens came nowhere near Sunna, who was by a cash register, police said.
McGrath said he didn't know exactly how far away the teens were but they were "not even close" to the armed clerk as they tried to grab several items.
McGrath said Sunna fired eight or nine times, hitting the youngest boy multiple times. The boy later died at a hospital.
The two other teens, ages 14 and 15, were arrested on suspicion of attempted robbery but McGrath said that will likely be downgraded to theft charges or other property crime charges.
Their identities were not released.
It wasn't clear Tuesday if Sunna had an attorney yet. A message left at number listed for Sunna seeking comment from a family member was not returned.
Sunna was the one who called 911 and was upset and crying when police arrived after the shooting, McGrath said.
That night, police only had surveillance video from outside the business that showed the three teens putting on masks. McGrath said officers didn't get a chance to watch video from inside the shop until Monday.
He said that footage, depicting multiple angles, showed the Sunna was not in danger.
"He's a kid," McGrath said of the boy's death. "It's really, really shocking to us."
Police did not release details Tuesday about how many times the boy was hit or where, what kind of masks the teens wore or whether the gun belonged to Sunna or the shop.
A message left with police by The Associated Press was not immediately returned.
