Police: Manchester Shooting Spurred By Spat — Not Self-Defense

MANCHESTER, NH — Manchester police, fire, and AMR ambulance responded to a report of a shooting on the sidewalk outside USA Chicken and Biscuits restaurant on Monday.

When they arrived, they found a man who had been shot multiple times. First responders rendered medical aid to the victim and quickly transported him to the Elliot Hospital.

The shooting occurred at 6:15 p.m. and was witnessed by several people outside the restaurant, according to court documents. Police blocked off Elm Street and put up crime scene tape cordoning off the area where the shooting occurred.

A man sitting at a table outside of Castro’s Back Room, a local cigar bar, told police he witnessed the incident. He saw two men, one described as short and stocky and the other as tall, thin, and bald, arguing for a few minutes outside the restaurant. The stockier man used racial slurs addressing the other man, the witness said, according to a report.

Witnesses said the “stocky man,” later identified as Zabayullah Qahir, 28, of Dunbarton, left the sidewalk and went into the restaurant. When he returned, he fired a handgun several times at the victim, striking him three times, according to police.

An affidavit said the victim was a former employee of USA Chicken & Biscuit and Qahir fired him recently. It was believed he was there to pick up his final paycheck. There was an incident that took place earlier in the day when the victim called the restaurant and spoke with Qahir's sister, the report said. Qahir was unhappy with the man's behavior and when he arrived to pick up his paycheck, they got into a heated exchange, witnesses stated.

An employee of Door Dash in the restaurant said Qahir went to the kitchen area and retrieved a handgun. The Door Dash driver told him to stop, and Qahir said, “Get out of my way,” according to the affidavit. The driver then saw Qahir exit the restaurant and begin to shoot the victim.

Another witness, a woman, was sitting in her car with her children directly in front of the restaurant while her husband was inside USA Chicken and Biscuits getting food. She told police she witnessed two men arguing. A tall, thin man picked up his belongings and took one or two steps away from the restaurant. She said the stockier man emerged from the restaurant with a small black handgun and immediately began firing the gun, shooting the man three times.

The shooter “tucked the gun in his waistband,” the female said, and "she thought the fight was over and appeared surprised when the man emerged shooting."

The husband of the woman in the car was inside the restaurant at the time of the shooting. He saw two men arguing in the doorway and told police Qahir shoved the victim out the door. The victim reportedly yelled to Qahir to come out and fight him but did not reenter the restaurant.

Qahir then ran toward the restaurant kitchen and pulled out a black handgun, the report said. The man said, "he and another person in the store told him to stop but they did not intervene any further because he appeared extremely mad and was nervous about what might happen if he tried to stop him.”

The man inside the restaurant getting his food said, "Qahir then stepped outside the restaurant and, without saying a word, shot the victim.”

Police took Qahir to the police station to interview him. He was seen walking to a detective’s cruiser and leaving the scene and not placed in handcuffs.

MPD Detective Jack Wagoner, in his affidavit, said witness statements preclude an establishment of a self-defense claim for Qahir. The victim never followed Qahir back into the restaurant once the argument was over and Qahir was the one who returned to the victim and immediately shot him, Wagoner wrote.

Qahir was arrested at the police station and charged with first-degree assault with a deadly weapon.

Qahir appeared via video in Hillsborough County North Superior Court Tuesday. He was ordered held on preventive detention after Superior Court Judge David Anderson called the shooting "very troubling." He continued saying, "The Defendant shot the victim twice from a distance and then once more while standing over the victim."

A not guilty plea was entered to the charge Tuesday in Hillsborough County Superior Court Northern District.

MPD Chief Allen Aldenberg said that the victim was shot three times, had life-threatening injuries. Sources say that the victim was shot in the chest, abdomen, and leg.

Chief Aldenberg expressed concern about the dangerous situation that unfolded during a busy time in a heavily populated area.

In December 2019, Qahir and his brother, Sifathullah Woodod, were shot outside the Red Arrow restaurant on Lowell Street in Manchester.

Qahir was shot in the right buttock with the bullet shattering two vertebrae and coming to rest against his left pelvis according to court documents.

Aweis Khamis, 21, was later arrested and charged with two counts of first-degree assault and one charge of reckless conduct in the incident.

©Jeffrey Hastings www.frameofmindphoto.com/news.