DeKalb County

Police say man angry about slow checkout line held couple at gunpoint

DUNWOODY, Ga. — A Dunwoody couple says a trip to the gas station nearly cost them their lives.

The couple, who asked Channel 2 Action News not to identify them, said they’d stopped at the Shell Station on Winters Chapel Road Jan. 23 after work to buy some drinks.

As the husband waited in line, he says a man behind him became impatient about having to wait to check out.

“I was already paid when he came behind me and pushed me and grabbed my bag,” the man said. “And then that’s when it escalated.”

According to an incident report obtained by Channel 2′s Mike Petchenik, 49-year-old Daniel Murphy began to yell at the victim, telling him to “speak English.”

[DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks]

The victim’s wife was in their car outside but could see the men arguing inside, when police say Murphy went to his truck and grabbed a gun.

“I know that a gun was pulled on us for no apparent reason,” the man’s wife said. “I feared for my life. It was very scary.”

Police said Murphy shoved the wife, then pinned the husband up against a car, pointing the gun at his head and threatening to kill him.

TRENDING STORIES:

Then police said Murphy used the gun to shatter a passenger side window on their vehicle before leaving.

Witnesses took down Murphy’s license plate number and gave it to Dunwoody Police.

The incident report said as officers arrested Murphy at his home and as they took him to jail he said he was “sorry for causing a ruckus.”

He’s charged with two counts of aggravated assault, criminal damage to property and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony.

“You shouldn’t be that quick and that aggressive, especially when you get to go back to your nice home and your nice job and work with customers like us. So maybe he needs to think about that,” the victim’s wife said. “Everybody just needs to calm down and understand and treat each one with compassion.”

[SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]