By Erica Solvig and Jane Prendergast
The Cincinnati Enquirer

ROSELAWN - The owner of a convenience store shot and killed an armed man wearing a black ski mask who authorities said was intending to rob the store, police said Friday

Abdrab "Abe" Ashishi, of West Chester, was the only employee working at the Shop Rite, in the 7900 block of Reading Road, when he shot and killed David A. Billups, 40, of Forest Park, about 9:45 p.m. Thursday.

Billups is the 32nd person to be slain in Cincinnati this year.

Ashishi called 911 to report he shot someone trying to rob him.

When officers and emergency medical crews arrived, they found Billups - wearing a ski mask and black leather gloves and armed with a handgun - lying on the floor just inside the store with a gunshot wound, police said.

Clerks at the store Friday afternoon said Ashishi was distraught about the shooting and would not be returning to work until next week. Ashishi did not return repeated requests for interviews.

Police interviewed Ashishi, but authorities had not made a decision Friday as to whether charges would be filed in the case.

Detectives and prosecutors still had to discuss details of the shooting before a decision would be reached, said Karl Kadon, a prosecutor and spokesman for Hamilton County Prosecutor Mike Allen. The death is a homicide, but he said the law allows people to use deadly force when justified if there is an immediate threat of harm to themselves or someone else.

If authorities deem the shooting self-defense, the case will not go to a grand jury. But if there's probable cause to believe it wasn't, the facts of the case will be reviewed by grand jurors who decide whether a charge will be issued, Kadon said.

By Friday afternoon, there was a steady stream of customers into the Shop Rite and no visible signs that a robbery had occurred at the store.

Shop Rite, which usually closes at 11 p.m., is in a shopping strip that includes a check cashing/electronics store, international food market and a church.

Employees at several stores in the area described Ashishi as a quiet man who keeps to himself, and said robberies at area businesses are rare.

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E-mail jprendergast@enquirer.com or esolvig@enquirer.com