Durham Co-Worker Indicted for Murder After Pizza Restaurant Shooting

A co-worker shot Mohammed Aly six times inside Randy's Pizza on South Miami Boulevard in Durham, and the autopsy confirmed every wound: chest, back, and arm, all from a 9mm handgun. Aly was 30 years old. Isaiah Rawlinson, also 30 and a fellow employee at the South Durham location, was indicted on a first-degree murder charge by a Durham Superior Court grand jury on March 16, 2026. He remains held without bond.

The sequence that ended Aly's life began just before 4:50 p.m. on February 26, 2026. According to police interviews and surveillance footage from inside the restaurant, the two men argued behind the counter. Employees stepped in and separated them, but the confrontation reignited. Authorities say Aly threw a glove at Rawlinson. Rawlinson responded by drawing a handgun and shooting Aly multiple times. Aly was in the kitchen area of the restaurant when he was shot and was pronounced dead at the scene. Rawlinson walked out of the front door.

What happened next captures how chaotic those minutes were: an armed customer inside Randy's Pizza followed Rawlinson outside and held him at gunpoint until Durham Police officers arrived. Police radio traffic from the scene recorded a caller yelling, "You just killed that guy." Officers took Rawlinson into custody at the restaurant, and prosecutors formally filed the murder charge the following day, February 27.

Aly's uncle, Darek Afify, spoke to CBS 17 the day after the shooting and described his nephew as "a good and honorable man." Afify said he "couldn't believe it" and "thought it was a dream, a bad dream." His sharpest question cut to the heart of accountability: "I don't understand how somebody can walk into the restaurant with a gun. I don't get it. No sign, nothing."

That question has now drawn regulatory attention. Both OSHA and the North Carolina State Health Department launched investigations following the workplace fatality, a standard step when an employee dies on the job that can result in citations or mandated safety changes for the employer. Randy Smith, the owner of Randy's Pizza, confirmed that both Aly and Rawlinson worked at the South Miami Boulevard store. Smith was out of state when media reached him and issued a public statement extending condolences to Aly's family and noting the restaurant was cooperating fully with law enforcement. Randy's Pizza posted on Facebook that the location would be closed until further notice. The shooting also forced the entire surrounding shopping center to shut down through the dinner rush that evening, affecting neighboring businesses along the corridor.

Court records show Rawlinson had no prior convictions at the time of his arrest. He was assigned a public defender at his arraignment and made his first court appearance after the initial charge on March 18. Surveillance video, spent casings, and ballistic confirmation of the 9mm handgun give prosecutors a documented record of the shooting's timeline and severity. Rawlinson's next scheduled hearing is April 9, 2026, at 9:30 a.m. in Durham Superior Court, where the weight of that forensic record will begin to take formal shape.