JSO: Manager fires shot into sidewalk after cellphone store scuffle

MetroPCS manager arrested after altercation with 4 young men, police say

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A scuffle outside a Westside cellphone store Friday afternoon led to a shot being fired and the manager’s arrest, according to Jacksonville police.

Police were called to the MetroPCS store on 103rd Street at Ricker Road around 12:20 p.m. Friday after officers said there was a fight between employees at the store and four young men, ages 16 to 20.

No one was seriously hurt, but the manager, Bilal Fshaikat, went into the store and grabbed a gun, after he was hit in the head by an object, and then fired a shot into the sidewalk, police said.

Fshaikat was taken into custody after the incident and charged with aggravated assault.

The uncle of the young men said Fshaikat was out of line, and put their lives at risk. He said Fshaikat even pulled out a machete at one point.

“I think it's wrong,” said the uncle, who asked not to be named. “All they were doing was talking to the girl in there and the man got mad. They were waving a machete in front of the customers in there and everything.”

Fshaikat and three of the teens stayed at the scene after the altercation and were detained when police arrived. One of the other young men ran away.

After talking with several witnesses, officers decided to charge Fshaikat and let the three young men go.

“Right is right and wrong is wrong. If they were wrong and they had knives, you're supposed to pull out something, but if they don't have anything and they're minors and you're pulling out knives, you're wrong,” the uncle said.

Friends of Fshaikat said they were upset that police took him to jail because they said the young men attacked him and that he was simply protecting himself. 

Police said surveillance video captured the incident, and they’re still reviewing it to see exactly what happened. 


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