Prosecutors: Detroit gas station clerk acted in self defense in fatal shooting

A 28-year-old gas station clerk acted in self defense when he fatally shot a 17-year-old boy at a gas station in Detroit, Wayne County prosecutors announced Wednesday.

The clerk, who is from Dearborn, shot 17-year-old Yaqoub Nagi just after 1 a.m. Nov. 25 at a Citgo gas station in the 9100 block of Dearborn Street, according to prosecutors.

Prosecutors did not release the clerk's name because he was not charged.

Detroit police found Yaqoub lying inside the gas station behind the door to the front counter with gunshot wounds on his upper body, according to prosecutors. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Yaqoub had entered the gas station at about 1:05 a.m. Nov. 25 and walked behind the clerk's counter, according to prosecutors.

When the clerk confronted him, he saw Yaqoub holding an object "with his hands together pointing as if he had a handgun," prosecutors said in a press release. The clerk shot Yaqoub multiple times.

During their review of the case, prosecutors determined the clerk's actions were in self defense, assistant prosecutor Maria Miller said in a press release. Michigan law says anyone who is not committing a crime can use deadly force against someone, if they have a legal right to be there, and feel deadly force is necessary to prevent imminent death or great bodily harm to themselves or another person.

“Last summer, there were a series of shootings at Detroit gas stations - some of them resulted in a loss of life," Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy said in a statement. "This case is yet another deadly shooting in a gas station, but the facts are very different. The evidence in this case shows that the actions of the store clerk were in lawful self-defense and as a result this office will not be charging him with any crime."

This was the second fatal shooting at a Detroit gas station within a month. At about 3 a.m. Oct. 31, a man was shot and killed after an argument at a gas station in the 17700 block of West Warren.

On June 5, a 25-year-old man was fatally shot at a gas station at the southwest corner of Vernor and Clark in southwest Detroit. The clerk was arrested in connection with the shooting, and the station, which was operating without a license, was closed.

And on May 6, three men were shot, one fatally, in a gas station in the 2800 block of West McNichols. The clerk, who locked the gas station doors to prevent a customer from leaving, was charged with involuntary manslaughter, and the unlicensed station was closed.

kberg@detroitnews.com