DETROIT – A man who was shot by a gas station clerk Tuesday night at a Shell gas station on Warren Avenue in Detroit is speaking out.
Surveillance video captured the alleged argument over a bag of chips that led to shots being fired. Tevarlis Durham was released from the hospital Thursday and spoke with Local 4 about the incident.
ORIGINAL STORY: Over bag of chips? Detroit gas station shooting under investigation
- Surveillance video from Sunday night appears to show the men arguing with clerk and stealing from the gas station.
- Surveillance video from Tuesday night appears to show those same men arguing with the clerk and trying to steal items before the shooting occurred.
- A protest was held Thursday at the gas station. Read more.
"I didn't know if I was going to make it or not," Durham said.
Durham said he is grateful to be alive.
"The bullet's stuck in me. They couldn't get it out because it's too close to my main artery," Durham said.
He said he was shot after he and his brother, Jamel Mobley, and the clerk started arguing. Mobley tried walking out of the gas station with a bag of chips when Durham was shot.
"The guy shot; it was really more than one time. The bullet went through the glass and I was coming out of the store and hit me in the side, on my rib cage," Durham said.
Durham said he wasn't involved in the argument in the first place and didn't steal anything.
"I was with my brother, but brother or not I'm not stealing. That doesn't mean you can shoot me," Durham said.
GoFundMe: Innocent Man Shot at SHELL Gas Station
"The crazy part is he shouldn't have been trying to shoot no one over no bag of chips anyway," Durham said.
Durham wants the clerk to face serious consequences for the shooting.
"I hope he go to jail. I hope he stay in jail," Durham said. "You can't just pull out no gun and open fire in a gas station just because somebody else is in there acting like a fool. It could have been a kid in there he could have shot."
Durham is hoping for justice in this case as he recovers from his injuries.
The owner of the gas station released the following statement:
I am thankful, first that the young man is improving, and that the shooter -- who was in possession of a weapon against company policy and who was immediately fired -- is in jail.
We have been in this same location in the community for more than 30 years without incident and remain committed to Detroit and its residents.
We are ready to work together to restore peace.