Denver Store Owner Charged With Murder After Deadly Fight

DENVER, CO — A Denver business owner was charged with murder Thursday in connection with the death of an employee from another local business, the Denver District Attorney's Office announced. Eyewitness accounts and surveillance video from the Jan. 28 incident suggest the two men were involved in a fight.

Abdishakur Ahmed, 47, was charged with one count of murder in the first degree. Police said Ahmed owns a business at 29th Avenue and Downing Street.

According to police reports, on Jan. 28, officers were dispatched to 3oth Avenue and Downing Street after getting reports of two men fighting.

Officers said that when they arrived they found an adult male victim lying unresponsive on the sidewalk. The man was transported to Denver Health Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead. Authorities have not named the victim or the cause of death.

According to a probable cause statement from the Denver Police Department that was obtained by 9 News, surveillance video from inside the victim's store shows Ahmed entering a few times without incident.

However, according to the PC statement, Ahmed entered the store another time and he and the victim engaged in a verbal confrontation. According to the document, Ahmed then pulled a knife and lunged at the victim.

Ahmed also was seen in the video chasing the victim inside the store, and the victim pulled over several store shelves trying to protect himself, according to the PC statement.

Eventually, Ahmed left the store, and the victim tried to lock the door, according to the statement. However, he could not do so because Ahmed was pushing on the door from the outside.

The statement said the victim then ran outside, where the physical alteration continued

Video from outside the store showed the victim and Ahmed wrestling, before the victim appeared to go limp, the PC document said.

According to the document, Ahmed called 911 to report that he was attacked and that he suffered broken teeth. During that call, he reported that no weapons were involved, though the video showed Ahmed holding a knife, 9 News reported.

Police reported that Ahmed was arrested onsite and without incident, though he too was transported to an area hospital where he was treated for non-life-threatening injuries.

Details about what led up to the fatal fight were not immediately clear, according to CBS4.