CORAL SPRINGS, Fla. _ A long-standing dispute led a longtime watch-shop owner at Coral Square Mall to shoot an employee at his store, panicking shoppers and shutting down the mall, police and witnesses say.
Gus Kiriazis, of Stuart, owned a franchise store for Fast-Fix Jewelry & Watch Repair at the mall for more than 20 years, and was described by his company as a good worker.
His employee, Sabas Antonio Ferrer, was friendly to just about everyone at the mall, recalls a worker at a neighboring business.
But Kiriazis and Ferrer "had issues for a while" _ Kiriazis fired Ferrer from his job before recently rehiring him _ and it boiled over during the holiday rush Saturday, police said.
Kiriazis shot Ferrer multiple times, wounding him in the head, and Kiriazis shot and killed himself, Police Capt. Brad McKeone said.
Though it's unclear exactly what spurred Saturday's deadly encounter, McKeone said it was part of the "ongoing dispute that unfortunately ended in this outcome."
Shoppers at the mall during the busy Thanksgiving weekend were frantic when the gunfire began. One of the first officers to arrive said he ran toward the mall through JC Penney carrying his gun, telling customers and employees to leave, a police report said.
Some people hopped over counters and ran to the rear of stores, and some stores quickly locked their gates, according to mall employees.
According to a police report, when an officer reached the watch-repair store Saturday, the officer saw Ferrer, sitting on the floor, bleeding from his mouth. Kiriazis, bleeding from a gunshot wound, also was on the floor, with a silver revolver near his body.
"Who did this to you?" the officer asked Ferrer, according to the report.
"The owner," Ferrer replied.
"That guy?" the officer asked, pointing at Kiriazis.
"Yes."
Four officers gave first aid to Ferrer and Kiriazis.
Kiriazis, 59, died at the mall.
Ferrer, 52, of Pembroke Pines, was hospitalized in stable condition Monday with non-life-threatening injuries.
"The guy who got shot is very pleasant, said 'good morning' to everybody, very friendly," said Lee Feldman, owner of Pops Corn. "Everybody liked him."
Kiriazis was a longtime store franchisee who about a year ago signed a contract for another 10-year lease at the mall, said Gerald Weber, the chief executive officer and president of Boca Raton-based Jewelry Repair Enterprises, Inc. which has 156 Fast-Fix locations throughout the country, and a handful in Europe.
"He was a good franchisee," Weber said of Kiriazis. "He was doing his job there. We're obviously very saddened, very sorry for both families involved in this situation."
