Rennie Defoe Jr., 43, was shot on July 17, 2018, after taking three 18-packs of Natural Ice beer from a Shell gas station on North Combee Road in Lakeland, Florida and attempting to leave without paying. The convenience store clerk, 22-year-old Mehedeun Hasan, ran outside as Defoe was backing out in his car and fired, striking Defoe. Defoe was transported to Lakeland Regional Health Medical Center and died of his injuries on July 21, 2018.

Hasan, who co-owned the store with his father and had no prior criminal history, was initially charged with attempted second-degree murder and shooting into an occupied vehicle; those charges were later upgraded to second-degree murder after Defoe’s death. Surveillance footage reportedly showed Hasan pointing a gun at Defoe while he remained seated in the car, a detail central to debates over the use of deadly force in response to a non-violent theft.

Were there witnesses or additional footage that clarified what happened in the moments before the shooting?