Inset (left): Curnel Brown (Marion County Sheriff’s Office). Inset (right): Ean Stein (Facebook). Background: News footage of the food store where Ean Stein was killed (WCJB).
A Florida teenager allegedly gunned down a store clerk who was in his first week on the job.
Curnel Brown, 19, is being held at the Marion County Jail without bail after being charged with second-degree murder. According to the Ocala Police Department, Brown was at the Kings Food Mart store in Ocala, Florida, on Tuesday while 45-year-old Ean Stein was working as a store clerk. At around 5:30 p.m., a “brief physical fight” took place that Brown was “not part of.” Police said Brown shot Stein, then fled the store.
In an interview with local ABC affiliate WCJB, the store’s owner, Abdel Abulganem, said Stein had just started working for him on Monday.
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Abulganem told WCJB that the initial fight at the store started when Stein asked a group of young men to provide identification so they could buy tobacco products. The fight reportedly escalated when the men refused. Police said Brown was not one of the young men who were fighting with Stein. When first responders arrived, they found Stein with gunshot wounds. He succumbed to his injuries after arriving at the hospital.
Surveillance video and other evidence at the scene pointed to Brown as the alleged shooter, police said. He was located “within minutes” and taken into custody without incident. Police said they recovered the alleged murder weapon.
During Brown’s first court appearance on Wednesday, he was denied bail. He is scheduled to appear in court again on Sept. 15.
In a GoFundMe post written by Stein’s daughter, he was remembered as “witty, funny, incredibly smart, stubborn as hell, and loved his family with his whole heart. He was a son, a father, a grandfather, a friend, and so much more.” His family is asking for donations for funeral and cremation costs as well as travel expenses for his family members so they can attend services.
Abulganem told WCJB that Stein was “a cool guy. He was actually the best guy who worked for me.”
The post Store clerk in training gunned down by 19-year-old who joined a fight over ID he was not even involved in: Police first appeared on Law & Crime.
