Bystander Hit By Bullet Ricochet In Tulsa Store Altercation

Tulsa Police arrest a convenience store employee who they say fired a shot into the ground during an altercation with a customer, and the bullet ricocheted and hit an innocent bystander. Investigators say the argument started over the price of beer.

Officers say the employee, Shamsuddin Ahmed fired a shot into the concrete to scare a woman who had been causing a scene inside the store, but the bullet fragments ricocheted and grazed the woman and another man.

Police say when they got to the scene they learned the woman had gone into the store and was arguing with Ahmed about the price of beer. An arrest report says Ahmed told police the woman refused to pay for beer and cigarettes and later threw unopened coffee at him.

Police say the woman was making a scene and was damaging items in the store. Officers say that’s when Ahmed pulled out a gun to try and scare her. They say at some point the woman left the store and Ahmed followed her outside and fire the shot into the ground.

"Even when you have a gun you've got to make good decisions. Yeah even though she was acting up inside the store, once you get outside the building, outside the store, just like your house you can't go out there and continue shooting,” said Lieutenant Dedlorn Sanders with Tulsa Police.

Ahmed is in jail on two counts of reckless handling of a firearm. Police say the innocent bystander was taken to the hospital but will be okay.