Police have charged a man with stabbing another man after a dispute that led to a violent altercation early Wednesday outside a convenience store in Downtown Pittsburgh, court records show.
Hayder Al Ghazi, 27, was booked into Allegheny County Jail on a charge of aggravated assault. Court records do not list an address for Al Ghazi.
Shortly before 12:30 a.m., a man crawled inside the 7-Eleven store on Smithfield Street near Forbes Avenue, a criminal complaint said.
“He just stabbed me!” the injured man called out to the store clerk, the clerk later told police.
Medics arrived and began to treat the man, who had a stab wound to his stomach, the complaint said.
Several officers rushed to the store while others fanned out to search for the suspect based on surveillance video and descriptions provided by the clerk and other witnesses.
The victim was taken to UPMC Mercy hospital, where he was in stable condition but required surgery, the complaint said.
While one detective headed to the hospital to interview the victim, another pair of officers spotted what appeared to be the suspect walking along Liberty Avenue toward the city’s Strip District at 12:47 a.m., the complaint said.
Officers identified Al Ghazi, who had an outstanding warrant for his arrest, and placed him in handcuffs based on their belief that he might have a weapon, the complaint said.
The officers gave him a pat-down and asked where his knife was, prompting Al Ghazi to hand over two knives, the complaint said.
One officer asked Al Ghazi which knife he used to stab the victim.
“I told you, it was the first one you took,” Al Ghazi told police, according to the complaint.
According to Al Ghazi, the other man “started making comments about the lacerations on his neck,” prompting Al Ghazi to tell him to “stop talking” and meet him outside the store, the complaint said.
Once outside, the other man started punching Al Ghazi in the face, according to Al Ghazi’s interview.
“That’s when I stabbed him,” Al Ghazi told police.
Al Ghazi underwent a medical evaluation for the cuts on his neck before police arrested and booked him into jail.
An attorney for Al Ghazi is not yet listed.
