Clerk charged after teen’s body discovered two days after being shot in the back over beer

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — A 28-year-old store clerk is charged with first-degree murder in the shooting death of a teen accused of stealing a beer from a convenience store. According to the arrest affidavit, obtained by WREG, Anwar Ghazali, a clerk at the Top Stop Shop, chased Dorian Harris, 17, as he walked away from the store at the corner of Springdale and Howell in Hyde Park Thursday after stealing a beer, then shot him from behind. Harris’ body wasn’t found until two days later next to Sarah Patton’s house, a few yards away. “He didn’t have to kill him, you know?” she said. Patton said she looked out her window when she heard the shooting, but didn’t see Ghazali or Harris. “I didn’t see anybody running or anything, so I didn’t think anymore about it,” she said. According to court documents, a witness told police Ghazali walked back into the store after the shooting and said, “I think I shot him.” But Ghazali never called police. “You don’t have any reason to be shooting no kids,” neighbor Joenathan Grenberry said. Pattan tells WREG she had no idea Harris’ body laid next to her home for days until investigators told her Saturday. “I didn’t see it,” she said. “If I knew that it was back there, I would have called the folks before now.” Harris’ loved one hugged and cried near the crime scene Saturday. There were likely asking the question as many others in the neighborhood — why? “I asked everybody,” Grenberry said. “Everybody was confused about what happened.” Police say the shooting was caught on camera and that Harris was never reported missing. The owner of the store declined an interview. Ghazali is charged with first-degree murder after admitting to police he shot at Harris several times, according to the arrest affidavit. He will face a judge Monday morning. Harris’ family will have a candlelight vigil in the 2100 block of Howell Street at 7 p.m. Sunday night.