LAS VEGAS, NEVADA — When a ROSS loss prevention employee lost his cool, responding officers had to act quickly so that lives could be saved. That’s exactly what happened at a Las Vegas ROSS Dress For Less store last week, and the shots that the officer needed to take were not easy ones.
37-year-old Mohamed Mahmoud was working loss prevention at the store, when he apparently snapped after being annoyed with how a customer was acting.
According to the store’s policy, customers are not allowed to remove shopping carts from inside the store, KTNV reported.
So, when another employee sent him a walkie-talkie message letting him know that a customer with a large purchase would be leaving her cart by the front door in order to get her vehicle, Mahmoud became upset.
The loss prevention greeter asked about the policy violation over the radio, at which point a store manager told him, over the store’s radio system, to stop complaining, KVVU reported.
At this point, Mahmoud reportedly went to the supervisor and began yelling and hitting his fist on the counter. Another supervisor tried to intervene, and that’s when Mahmoud threatened to kill them. Next, he goes out to his vehicle to retrieve his handgun.
This is how quickly things can escalate.
Mahmoud fired a round into the air in the busy parking lot before he re-entered the store, which was packed with back-to-school shoppers.
Once inside, he fired a round into the ceiling, then began hunting down the female manager, eventually firing a total of five bullets at her as she ran from him throughout the store.
The calls started coming into 911 of an active shooter incident and police started heading to the area. The first officers arrived within 3 minutes, and body cam footage was released that shows one officer engaging the suspect from quite a long distance with his pistol.
47-year-old Officer Byron Bunitsky is the one who fired the shots after Mahmoud fired at another officer and himself. The shots by Officer Bunitsky are said to have been made 50 yards away from the suspect.
Mahmoud was taken to the hospital and underwent surgery and was listed in stable condition. Police say he fired a total of 16 shots during the ordeal.
He is being charged with numerous crimes.
“I believe our officer involved in the shooting acted courageously and with impressive accuracy based on the distance of the shots fired,” the sheriff said.
No one other than Mahmoud was injured.
Brandon is the founder of Concealed Nation and is an avid firearm enthusiast, with a particular interest in responsible concealed carry. His EDC is a Springfield Armory Hellcat OSP, with a Shield Sights RMSC Red Dot, that holds Hornady 165 gr FTX Critical Defense rounds, and rides comfortably in a Vedder Holsters ComfortTuck IWB holster.
