Man Accused of Firing at Teenage Girls Testifies He Acted in Fear

By Sage Cho - December 12, 2024
Court | Daily Stories | Non-Fatal Shooting |

A 48-year-old man charged with opening fire on two teenage victims in a convenience store argument testified before Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Yvette M. Bryant on Dec. 11.

Nadeem Tajdin is charged with three counts of reckless endangerment and two counts each of first- and second-degree assault, firearm usage in a felony or violent crime, and illegal possession of a regulated firearm. He also faces charges for the possession of an unregulated shotgun, illegal possession of ammunition, and firing a gun in Baltimore City.

Tajdin is accused of firing a loaded shotgun at two teenage sisters after one of them called his son, 22, a “dummy.” The incident occurred on March 6, 2023, at Tajdin’s corner store on the 3700 block of Edmonson Avenue.

The girls, 16 and 19 years old at the time of the incident, entered his store with two men they had met near the bus stop outside the store. Tajdin said he knew these men, claiming they sold marijuana nearly daily in the area around his storefront. Prior to the “dummy” exchange, Tajdin said, he and his son asked the four customers to hurry with their purchase because the store closed at midnight. This, he said, prompted the younger sister to insult his son.

“My son is telling them, ‘Can you please hurry up? We need to close the store,’” Tajdin said. “And one of the females calls him a ‘dummy.’”

The prosecutor initially told the jury that the younger sister meant no offense, and that the term was a “very Baltimore” term of endearment, similar to “homie” or “buddy.” Tajdin, however, said the term offended him. 

“It upsetted me, so I told her my son is not a ‘dummy,’” he said. “She starts cursing me.”

Tajdin said he started cursing in return, causing the girls allegedly to threaten murder and robbery. He claimed that all four customers began to punch and kick the plexiglass between them, causing him to fear for his safety, his son’s as well as the well being of his store.

Video footage that the detectives obtained from security cameras inside Tajdin’s store appear to show that the older sister threw one punch against the plexiglass before leaving.

“She posed no threat to him,” the prosecutor said. “She posed no threat to his son. She posed no threat to his property. She’s tiny.”

Tajdin said he initially pointed the shotgun at the girls through the plexiglass in a bid to protect his son. The gunfire was a result of his “accidentally discharging” the firearm, he said. He claimed he was afraid and wanted to scare the group off.

“She’s a petite girl,” the prosecutor said about the older sister. “It would have been a devastating injury.”

The prosecutor said this statement supports Tajdin’s first-degree assault charge, as it confirmed intent to frighten. 

“He wants you to believe this was an accident,” she said. “His intention was to go after them and shoot at them.” 

Video footage captured Tajdin unlocking the door by the counter and stepping into the store apparently raising his shotgun at one of the men.

“His son is actually smiling at this point,” the prosecutor said, pausing and pointing at the video. “I guess he thinks it’s funny.”

Defense attorney Rodney Gray and Tajdin continued to refer to Tajdin’s shotgun as a “BB gun” throughout the trial.

“I would argue that they failed to prove that this … weapon is a firearm,” Gray said. “There is no evidence to support first-degree assault.”

The lead detective denied that the firearm was a BB gun, which uses air power to discharge a pellet. He identified the gun seen in the footage as a 14-inch barrel shotgun, citing its length and “massive hull.” The detective said that the BB pellet residue found at the scene was a result of Tajdin using birdshot, shotgun shells filled with smaller BB pellets. 

BB gunfire would have been too weak to cause the puncture found in the store’s plexiglass, he said.

After closing the store, the video shows Tajdin and his son putting the shotgun in a blue shopping bag and exiting. Tajdin said he panicked and disposed of the firearm the same night by throwing it into an abandoned lot. The prosecutor interpreted Tajdin’s panicked disposal of the weapon as an admission of guilt. 

“The fact that he got rid of it so quickly means that it’s actually what we say it is,” the prosecutor said.

The trial will continue on Dec. 12.