Crime & Safety

Man Charged With Threatening To Shoot, Kill Austin Store Workers

After not getting free phone, Chafik Tahar Bourenane, 34, is accused of saying: "I'm going to go outside, grab my gun and shoot you."

EAST AUSTIN, TX — Police have accused a man of threatening to shoot employees at various Austin store locations after demanding a phone but not receiving one, according to a newly released affidavit.

The incidents date to Dec. 21 at around noon when a man an employee at the Boost Mobile store at 2015 E. Riverside Dr. reported a disturbance call between a man later identified as Chafik Tahar Bourenane, 34, according to the affidavit,

The caller told police Bourenane entered the store and asked for a free phone. Upon being denied, he said the employee would "get shot or hurt," the Austin American-Statesman reported, referencing the affidavit.

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Even as police investigated that case, a second complaint came in from the MetroPCS at a shopping center at 1901 E. Riverside Dr., where an employee said Bourenane had threatened to kill her. During a police interview about the incident, the victim told police that when she explained that a phone plan didn't include a free phone, Bourenane allegedly said: "I'm going to go outside, grab my gun and shoot you. I've piled up bodies before."

Bourenane was charged with making a terroristic threat, which is a misdemeanor punishable by up to 180 days in jail and a $2,000 fine. Police later found he has ten active warrants, including one for aggressive solicitation, according to the report. He was placed in custody at the Travis County Jail with a $4,000 bond.

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