Detroit News – 11/17/07:

The two gas stations had rivaled for years. They stood across an intersection from each other on Fort Street in Detroit, where even a penny’s difference was enough to lure customers.

The Marathon station on Fort near Springwells dropped its price to $2.93. That angered Jawad Bazzi, whose regular gas was priced at $2.96.

Bazzi walked across the street with a couple of employees to confront the Marathon owner and his posse.

The groups argued, then began throwing punches. One of Bazzi’s employees hit a Marathon employee with a baseball bat, injuring him.

That’s when the Marathon owner grabbed a handgun and fired three or four times. Bazzi, 45, of Dearborn Heights was shot in the head.

After the shooting, with the competing station closed, BP’s price per gallon increased to $3.09 for regular.

I’m from the Detroit area and all the gas stations here are owned by people of middle eastern descent. According to the New York Post the alleged shooter’s name is Hussah Masboath, so that confirms it here. I’m not saying that all people from the middle east kill each other. I’m just letting you in on what the news reports are not telling you. These guys were either relatives or there was bad blood between the two families. It was more about a feud than a squabble over gas prices. But that’s not as interesting a story.

The talk of each station having its own “posse” should be explained too. Here’s how these stations operate. A guy of middle eastern descent opens one station and him and his immediate family run it. As it expands “cousins” are brought in from the middle east to work at it. They work cheaply, under the table. Then the original guy’s sons open their own stations. The experienced imported labor go with them. New guys are brought in from the middle east to work. Eventually most experienced guys from the middle east open their own stations with their own families, and the process is started all over again. As you can see, it’s a very tight working environment. Not only are you related with everyone you work with, but you’re entirely dependent on them for your livelihood. And that also explains how middle easterners were able to take control of nearly every gas station and party store in the Detroit area. I’m not saying there is anything wrong with it, in fact I’m quite impressed.