Family of man killed by Detroit gas station clerk sues ExxonMobil for $100 million
Southfield — The family of a man killed by an ExxonMobil gas station clerk over an alleged dispute over a piece of beef jerky has filed a lawsuit against the clerk charged with killing the customer.
Anthony McNary, 24, was shot and killed by a clerk June 5 at a Mobil gas station in Detroit on 4415 W. Vernor Highway. The clerk, Moad Mohamed Al-Gaham, is charged in Wayne County with first-degree murder.
Attorney James Harrington said McNary's death was "highly preventable." Harrington spoke at a press conference Wednesday at Fieger Law with two dozen members of McNary's family in attendance.
McNary and Al-Gaham got into a dispute over a piece of beef jerky Al-Gaham believed he was shoplifting, according to the lawsuit. When McNary tried to pay for the jerky, he was told to leave. Al-Gaham locked the doors once McNary was outside, then allegedly shot and killed McNary through the glass doors.
"The clerk is now safe (once the door is locked). The clerk has nothing to worry about," Harrington said. "The clerk pulls out a gun. The clerk lifts up the gun, aims it directly in line with Anthony’s face and fires a bullet that goes through the glass into his head and fatally kills him. Why?"
McNary was taken to the hospital with a gunshot wound to the forehead and was later pronounced dead.
Representatives from ExxonMobil did not respond for comment.
The lawsuit asks for $100 million in damages for corporate negligence and the reckless conduct of store clerk Al-Gaham, as well as negligent hiring, training, supervising and retention of the clerk.
"This wasn't some rogue psychopath," Harrington said. "This is a systemic failure from big oil Exxon from the top down. ... Simply put, everyone, they don't care. They don't care about you, they don't care about me, they don't care about the team I have standing here, the family that misses Anthony, and they sure as heck didn't care about Anthony."
Harrington said Exxon responded to the lawsuit with a letter claiming no responsibility for the shooting. He suggested people boycott ExxonMobil and do not shop there until they publicly commit to making the community safer.
Harrington said he would love to sit down and talk to ExxonMobil about how they can make the community safer.
"Make this little town of Detroit a bit safer," Harrington said. "Come on, big oil, you can do that."
This is the second lawsuit filed within a month against ExxonMobil. The first was filed after a clerk at a Detroit ExxonMobil locked three customers inside the gas station with an irate customer who later shot three other customers in the store, killing one. One of the injured customers, Anthony Bowden, filed the lawsuit.
The clerk, Al-Hassan Aiyash, was charged with involuntary manslaughter stemming from the May 6 shooting. The alleged shooter, Samuel McCray, was charged with first-degree murder and attempted murder.
McNary's cousin, Carla Hassan, said McNary's family is devastated by his unexpected death. She said it shouldn't be so common that unarmed Black men are killed.
"This should not be so commonplace where we go to a gas station in our neighborhood, and we have to worry about the clerk being armed," Hassan said. "Why is it that this is allowed to happen over and over again? Anthony is not the first. … There's no way in my neighborhood that I should go to a gas station and have to worry that if (the clerk) thinks I’m doing something, they can come out and kill me."
Al-Gaham was under investigation for another shooting that occurred about a year ago at the time of the shooting that killed McNary, according to the lawsuit and prosecutors. Al-Gaham allegedly shot at a person standing too close to his vehicle, though neither a warrant nor charges have been submitted.
"(ExxonMobil) knew or should have known that Defendant Al-Gaham (had) a known history of violence, including gun violence ... (and) knew or should have known without adequate training and supervision Defendant Al-Gaham would aggressively and violently attack customers as he did in the past."
Nevaeh Dubose, McNary's younger sister, said her brother was "so beautiful and full of happiness and grace."
"I can't imagine my family and I living the rest of our lives without him," Dubose said. "Do not let my brother be forgotten."
kberg@detroitnews.com