39-year-old Steven Nelson was seen recklessly shooting his firearm after an altercation outside 7-Eleven on Brick Church Pike Road on July 4th. When the officers arrived at the scene, they spoke with Nelson, a security guard for the 7-Eleven. Nelson stated that he was arguing with a gentleman when it became physical. Nelson then told officers he was in the business when a gentleman walked in, causing a disturbance. Nelson stated the gentleman began arguing with staff, and he stepped in to remove the gentleman from the property. Nelson and the man got into a shoving match and went outside. The two began arguing more until the gentleman struck Nelson in the face. Officers then observed a mark on Nelson’s face where he said he was hit. Nelson informed officers that this was when the man began threatening him, telling Nelson that he was going to kill him. Nelson then stated that he then drew his firearm as he was in fear for his life and shot one round into the ground of the business parking lot. Nelson then proceeded to holster his weapon and pepper spray the man. Officers located the shell casing that matched Nelson’s firearm and also noticed that his gun was missing one round of ammunition as well.
Officers were able to watch video footage of the incident that corroborated what Nelson said up until the assault. The video shows Nelson getting struck and then chasing the man until they ended up where officers found them when they arrived. The footage determined that Nelson’s story did not align with what happened. With the admission of Nelson firing the weapon and the video footage, officers deemed Nelson to be the aggressor. Nelson was taken into custody for reckless endangerment on July 5th.