Man shot on New Year’s Day was trying to break up bar fight

By Ana Ley

Thursday, Jan. 2, 2014 | 6:30 p.m.

A man who was shot in the stomach early New Year’s Day had reportedly just tried to break up a large bar fight, Metro Police said.

The scuffle started when alleged shooter Alen Kareyan, 27, began arguing with a man at XS Cafe Bar, 3650 Jones Blvd., about 5 a.m. because Kareyan thought the man was taking up too much room at the bar, according to a police report released this afternoon. A melee involving as many as a dozen people then ensued and eventually spilled out onto the bar’s parking lot.

Patrons told police that Glavas Borislav, a regular, tried to calm the crowd down. After the fight, Kareyan left in a black BMW with another man and returned a few minutes later armed with a gun.

Staff said Kareyan was bleeding from the face, screaming at fellow patrons and asking who had hit him. He then pointed his gun at Borislav’s head, and the men wrestled for the gun, police said.

Kareyan fired once, striking Borislav in the stomach, according to the report. Kareyan’s companion, meanwhile, asked Kareyan in Russian what he was doing.

Borislav, whose age was not provided by police, was rushed to Sunrise Hospital & Medical Center with a life threatening injury. A condition update was not available on Thursday.

Surveillance cameras captured both incidents and corroborated witness statements. Police said video footage shows Kareyan’s girlfriend falling to her knees in front of the suspect and placing her hands to her chest in a praying position after the shooting.

Police pulled Kareyan over that morning and arrested him on charges of attempted murder and burglary with a deadly weapon. He reportedly told police he shot Borislav in self defense.

“The old guy, he hit me,” Kareyan reportedly told officers. “Is he going to be OK?”