Advertisement

Parkland school shooting: Father of two survivors shot dead in Florida convenience store

A suspect was seen robbing the shop before returning to shoot Mr Ali: Broward Sheriff
A suspect was seen robbing the shop before returning to shoot Mr Ali: Broward Sheriff

The father of two survivors of the February shooting in Parkland, Florida, has been shot dead in his own convenience store.

Ayub Ali, 61, was shot by a robber while working at Aunt Molly's in North Lauderdale, Florida, on Tuesday.

Two of Mr Ali's four children were students at the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School where a former pupil shot and killed 17 people on February 14.

CCTV footage shows a man dressed in red shorts and a bobble hat going behind the counter and putting a black object to Mr Ali's back.

The Parkland shooting sparked protests against gun violence (Getty Images)
The Parkland shooting sparked protests against gun violence (Getty Images)

An unnamed family member told CBS News in Miami that the robber made off with about $500 in cash.

But he then returned and forced Mr Ali into the shop's back office to shoot him, according to NBC News in Miami.

He was taken to Broward Health Medical Centre but paramedics could not save him and he was pronounced dead.

After a police appeal, the sheriff's office for Broward County said they have arrested Tyrone Fields Jr, 19, in connection with the shooting.

Mr Ali's daughter and son both survived the Parkland massacre, which ranks as the second-greatest loss of life from gun violence at a public school in modern US history, after a 2012 shooting rampage at Sandy Hook Elementary School that left 20 first-graders and six adult educators dead.

The Florida shooting triggered a protest movement and lobbying campaign for tougher gun control restrictions led by student survivors and parents of the victims.