“I was told that my dad tried to fight back which sounds like my dad, and that resulted in him being shot. I don’t know if he was by himself, I don’t know if he died by himself, I hope he didn’t suffer, I hope he was not in pain,” says Jassmine Baghdady, the daughter of the Hanahan man who was shot and killed on King Street late Tuesday night.
Gaber Baghdady was closing up the restaurant Toast All Day when he was confronted by a former employee.
ABC News 4 spoke exclusively to his family about his amazing legacy and a life well-lived.
Jassmine says that the family was worried when her father never came home from work after closing up the restaurant.
It was 1:45 in the morning- he was two hours late. His wife, Hoda, woke Jassmine up, and the two drove from Hanahan downtown to Toast, but it was too late.
“My dad, his name is Gaber Baghdady and everyone knew him by Jimmy,” says Jassmine.
She is Jimmy’s 26-year-old daughter who says her father truly lived the “American Dream.”
“He was loved by so many people. Of course, I can’t begin to say how much we love him and miss him. Even though it’s only been a day, it feels like it’s been weeks that we’ve been dealing with this,” says Jassmine.
Jassmine's father was born in Egypt and immigrated to the United States with his bride back in the 1980s. His daughter, Jassmine, is now a nurse at MUSC, and his son graduated from The Citadel, both born in the U.S.
“He came in and worked his behind off to make a living for his family and leave us everything we have now. I thought that I would never appreciate as much as I do now that he’s not here,” says Jassmine.
She says he was a passionate chef, and his specialty?
“He was a big pizza man. Everybody knows his pizza -- New York style,” says Jassmine.
He owned several restaurants in the Lowcountry over the years. Cooking was his way to share love.
“He's always wanting to give back, especially when it comes to his cooking,” says Jassmine.
And as a dad, Jassmine says he was the best.
“He supported me no matter what. He always stood for what was the right thing to do, and he always encouraged me to stand up for myself and for what I believed in, what I believed was right. He always told me to look out for other people, those who are in need, those who needed someone to stand up for them. He supported me in every way I knew possible,” she says.
Jimmy leaves a big hole for the Baghdadys. And now, his family wants to know why.
“We want to see who did this to him,” says Jassmine. His wife Hoda says, “I need the man who killed my husband to be in jail.”
The murder suspect, Antwan Lamont Scott, waived his initial bond hearing. He is set go to court again in the next few weeks in front of a circuit court judge.
A service for Jimmy Baghdady will be held Friday at the Central Mosque of Charleston at 1082 King St. after 1 p.m. prayers. The service will be followed by a burial in North Charleston.