Mental Evaluation Ordered For Man Charged with Stabbing 7-Eleven Clerk 75 Times

A 7-Eleven clerk killed Thursday in Montgomery Village was stabbed more than 70 times by a man he didn’t know, prosecutors said.

On Friday, a Montgomery County District Court judge ordered a psychological evaluation for the man charged in connection with the death.

Store clerk Abdul Ghaffar, 63, leaves behind a wife in Gaithersburg, five daughters in Pakistan and two sons who are studying in Australia, said Assistant State’s Attorney Robert Hill during a court hearing in Rockville.

Judge Eugene Wolfe ordered that Shaun David King, 36, be held without bond on first-degree murder charges. King must also undergo an evaluation to determine whether he is competent to stand trial.

Prosecutors and a representative from the public defender’s office said that King had a history of mental illness.

King has been placed on suicide watch since his arrest, according to court testimony Friday.

The chain of events that led to Ghaffar’s death began at around 1:45 a.m. Thursday when he and a co-worker were working inside the convenience store, at 9051 Snouffer School Road, police said.

Prosecutors said a man walked in wearing sunglasses and a sweatshirt. He purchased a hot dog, which he put in his pocket, and then went to the bathroom. Meanwhile, Ghaffar was doing some work near the coffee bar.

Prosecutors, citing surveillance footage, said the man came out of the bathroom and “ambushed” Ghaffar from behind, slicing his neck, chin and wrists. Investigators determine he was stabbed at least 75 times.

Meanwhile, Ghaffar’s colleague pushed a panic button and called 911.

Police said King was leaving the store when patrol officers arrived. There appeared to be blood on his sweatshirt, shoes and sunglasses, police said.

Police said they found a box-cutter-style knife in his pocket.

Ghaffar was taken to a hospital, where he later died.

When brought in for questioning, King reportedly told police he didn’t know anything about the incident, according to a statement of charges filed by police. 

A hearing was set for Jan. 31.