An 18-year-old man from Virginia faces a lengthy prison sentence after being charged with second-degree murder over the fatal shooting of 39-year-old Jason Hann.
The story takes a tragic turn due to allegations that it occurred when Hann jumped in front of a vehicle and kicked Kianmehr Shirinipaziziba's Tesla.
There's been a worrying rise in violence against Tesla, but away from bullets being fired at Tesla dealerships and Cybertruck owners claiming they've been bombarded by abuse, this unfortunate tale seems to have nothing to do with the fact that someone was a Tesla owner.
In court documents seen by NBC4 Washington, it's said that the altercation took place near a Herndon, Virginia, shopping center on May 23, with Shirinipaziziba saying he shot Hann when the latter seemed to reach for his belt.
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News4 attended the scene where police say they were alerted to a 911 call about a man jumping in and out of the roadway.
Herndon Police's Sgt. David Forbach explained how this was quickly followed by another call: "Shortly after the call for service, dispatch updated that there was a shooting. Officers arrived on scene and provided first aid care to the victim. The shooter was also on scene, he was taken into custody by officers."
Writing on Facebook, the Herndon Police Department confirmed they'd attended the scene over calls of a 'disorderly male subject', saying Shirinipazizib himself was the person behind the second call and admitted he'd fired the shot.
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The court documents add that Hann supposedly kicked the Tesla's mirror, before Shirinipaziziba produced a Glock 27 9mm handgun and fired a single round at the victim.
This was expanded on by one supposed eyewitness, who told Fox 5 how traffic was being stopped on a busy four-lane road: "I saw the person stopping the vehicle, and he’s not letting other cars pass by. And when he tried to pass by, he’s acting weird. He’s trying to stop them forcefully not to go. Not to move."
Another witness claims they saw the victim staggering follow the gunshot, while a third, who operates a nearby restaurant, said they saw him being loaded onto a stretcher and being taken away by an ambulance.
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Despite first responders administering first aid at the scene, Hann was taken to a nearby hospital and later died from his wounds.
Authorities have noted that the pair didn't seem to know each other before the fatal interaction.
Although Shirinipaziziba awaits sentencing, the sentence for second-degree murder in Virginia is not less than five nor more than forty years.