A Chicago cashier is charged with shooting two unarmed, unrelated customers 'execution'-style after one of them opened up a suitcase in his fast-food store.
Surveillance footage captured the fatal shooting of two men at a Southwest Side JJ Fish & Chicken restaurant, according to prosecutors. Mehdi Medellel, 42, is charged with two counts of first-degree murder and remains in jail pending trial.
Prosecutors described the series of events in court Wednesday. On Monday at approximately 10:00 p.m, a kitchen cook claimed to see Medellel "handling" a firearm while a 56-year-old customer dined in the restaurant, Chicago Sun Times reported.
Another customer entered the restaurant carrying a suitcase at 10:15 p.m. The customer, a 57-year-old man, presented the suitcase's contents to Medellel. Prosecutors said Medellel then walked into the kitchen, came back, locked the back door, and held his gun up pointed at the customer who'd been unpacking his suitcase.
Allegedly, the customer "stepped back with his hands up," and Medellel fired a fatal shot in his head. The other customer attempted to stand, at which point Medellel shot him in the head and left the restaurant.
Both men, who prosecutors clarified were unarmed and had no personal connection to Medellel, died at the scene. "Facts of this case show you what was an execution," prosecutors told the court.
An employee at the restaurant told ABC7 she was familiar with one of the victims, although she was not present during the incident.
"He sat in there with me every day. Sometimes, I fed him. He was homeless. He didn't harm nobody or anything," Medellel's co-worker said. "I don't know why this happened or why he did what he did, what made him do what he do."
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