Eight Mile store owner shot 5 times returns to work; suspect faces more charges

MOBILE, Ala. ( WKRG ) — The owner of an Eight Mile convenience store returned to work two weeks after being shot five times in a store robbery.

According to previous reporting , suspected robber 30-year-old Rashad Norwood allegedly shot T&J Food Mart Owner, Diaa Sabana five times. before stealing a cash register.

Diaa Sabana, the owner of T&J Food Mart, appeared healthy and mobile as customers came into his store on Wednesday.

This wasn’t the first time Norwood has robbed the store, located at 2561 S Shelton Beach Rd —in the Prichard Police Department’s jurisdiction — according to Sabana. In the first robbery on December 31, Sabana said Norwood entered the store at 7:30 a.m., and he was there for 45 minutes. During that time, Sabana said he was pressing a silent alarm button that calls the police when pressed.

Prichard Police didn’t respond until four hours later at 11:30 a.m., according to Sabana.

Norwood was out on bond when he allegedly robbed the T&J Food Mart for the second time. This is the robbery that left Sabana injured.

Mobile County District Attorney Keith Blackwood said the Mobile County Sheriff’s Office took over the investigations for the second robbery because the Prichard Police Department failed to submit paperwork.

“If complaints had been signed, maybe we would be looking at a different circumstance,” Blackwood said. “It’s tough to play Monday morning quarterback, but we do require these investigations to be thorough.”

Norwood is being held on no bond for robbery and attempted murder charges in the second alleged robbery.

On Friday, Blackwood said Norwood was tacked with additional charges including three counts of reckless endangerment.

“It was determined that shots were fired at one vehicle with three people inside the vehicle,” Blackwood said. “The bullet did not enter the vehicle, so that’s the source of the three reckless endangerment charges.”

One count of shooting into an unoccupied vehicle was also added to Norwood’s in the latest case.

“There was one bullet that did enter an unoccupied vehicle,” Blackwood said. “We want to prosecute him to the fullest extent.”

Norwood is expected to appear in court for the new charges on April 18.

To keep something like this from happening again, Sabana said he has spent thousands of dollars on new safety features.

At the time WKRG News 5 visited the T&J Food Mart, crews were working to install a glass pane to separate the customer from the cashier. Sabana said this feature will prevent people from reaching over the counter.

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