UPDATE: Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg will not prosecute the parking-garage attendant who shot a suspected thief after getting wounded himself, the DA’s office told the New York Post on Sunday.
Bragg — who is under fire for indicting former President Donald Trump last week — will dismiss the case against Diarra “pending further investigation,” his office said.
NEW YORK – A parking garage attendant working in New York City was hit with an attempted murder charge after confronting an armed thief. The attendant was shot as he wrestled the gun away from the perpetrator. He then opened fire on the suspect, which has now led to criminal charges against both men.
Moussa Diarra, 57, is the parking garage attendant who is charged with attempted murder, assault and criminal possession of a weapon in connection with the incident that occurred at around 5:30 a.m. Saturday morning. Charles Rhodie, 59, was identified as the suspect who pulled out a weapon and shot Diarra, the New York Post reported.
According to law enforcement authorities, the attendant — Diarra — saw a man peering into vehicles on the second floor of the West 31st Street garage in Manhattan. He believed the man — Rhodie — was stealing, so he brought him outside and questioned him about what was inside his bag.
Rhodie pulled out a firearm and Diarra tried to grab it in self-defense. However, the gun was fired and Diarra suffered a gunshot wound to the stomach and his ear was grazed by a discharged round.
Diarra gained control of the weapon and fired on his assailant and would-be thief, shooting Rhodie in the chest, Fox News reported.
Diarra and Rhodie were transported to Bellevue Hospital. Each man is reportedly in stable condition after Saturday’s confrontation.
To the utter astonishment of many people familiar with the incident, Diarra was charged with attempted murder, assault and criminal possession of a weapon. Rhodie, was also charged with attempted murder, assault, criminal possession of a weapon, and burglary, police said.
The W 31st Street parking garage attendant (Moussa Diarra, 57) who was shot while confronting a suspected thief, then took the gun and shot the suspect, has been charged with attempted murder. https://t.co/CiU8QZfwXx
— Crime In NYC (@Crime_In_NYC) April 2, 2023
The charges against Diarra sparked outrage. Family friend Mariame Diarra, who is not related to the attendant, ripped the decision to charge the married father of two with attempted murder, according to the New York Post.
“That’s self-defense. The guy tried to rob his business. Why DA want to charge him with attempted murder?” she told the news outlet. “He’s there for security. That’s literally his job, to defend his business. … He takes his job seriously. … Attempted murder charge has no place there. He [robber] came to find him at his job with his gun, he [Diarra] has to defend himself.”
Another New Yorker who works nearby was also in disbelief.
“You are kidding. That’s an April fool day joke, right?” they asked of the charges against Diarra, adding, “How can a hardworking man get arrested for defending himself?”
One NYC officer who heard of the attempted murder charge against the parking garage attendant said, “People like (Manhattan District Attorney) Alvin Bragg have made this city unsafe and this worker is a victim defending himself.”
Another officer opined, “The ironic thing is if he would have just robbed the garage and got caught, Bragg would have let him go, but now he wants to charge both of them.”
Last summer, Manhattan bodega clerk Jose Alba, 61, was charged with murder after he defended himself against his attacker, ex-con, 35-year-old Austin Simon, Law Officer reported.
After an onslaught of harsh and direct criticism, Bragg finally dropped the controversial murder charge against Alba, but not before the man spent six days in custody at Rikers Island and his entire life was turned upside down.
Bragg’s office conceded there wasn’t enough evidence to prosecute. What they failed to acknowledge was that Alba was actually the vicim of terror perpetuated by the suspect he fatally stabbed in self-defense.
