Hazrat Ali Rohani was a 17-year-old junior at Kent-Meridian High School and the eldest of six children in a family that had immigrated to the United States from Afghanistan. On the evening of June 5, 2024, he and two friends went to a Big 5 Sporting Goods store in Renton, Washington. They were there to return a malfunctioning airsoft gun that Rohani owned.
As the three teenagers walked through the parking lot, they were confronted by Aaron Brown Myers, a 51-year-old off-duty security
guard. Myers was in his vehicle waiting to pick up his son from a nearby martial arts class. He told police he saw what he believed was a Glock handgun and thought the teens were about to commit an armed robbery. Claiming he had a “duty to intervene,” Myers got out of his car and approached the group with his own firearm drawn, ordering them to drop their weapon.
The teenagers immediately complied. One of them placed the airsoft gun on the sidewalk and repeatedly told Myers it was a “BB gun.” With their hands raised to show they were empty, the boys tried to explain the situation. Despite their compliance, Myers escalated the encounter, tackling one of Rohani’s friends and straddling him on the ground while still pointing his gun at the others. As Rohani backed away with his hands up, Myers opened fire. Rohani was struck once in the side and six times in the back. Surveillance footage captured him falling to the ground and calling out for his mother. He died at the scene from multiple gunshot wounds.
Renton police officers arrested Myers immediately. He was charged with second-degree murder and second-degree assault, with firearm enhancements on both counts. Prosecutors stated that Myers had failed to take the obvious step of securing the toy gun and instead chose to escalate the situation with violence. Myers pleaded not guilty on June 24, 2024, and was later released on a $2 million bond to await trial. The killing devastated Rohani's family and the local Afghan immigrant community. Rohani’s father said the incident had destroyed his family’s hopes for a peaceful life in America. Civil rights groups questioned whether race and ethnicity played a role in Myers' actions.
On May 8, 2026, which would have been Hazrat Ali Rohani’s 18th birthday, a King County Superior Court jury found Aaron Brown Myers guilty of second-degree murder and second-degree assault. On September 2, 2026, Myers was sentenced to just over 25 years in prison.
