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Maryland Man Admits To Killing Store Clerk, Is Committed

GAITHERSBURG, Md. (AP) — A Maryland man who admitted to killing a convenience store employee four years ago with a box cutter has been found not criminally responsible because of mental illness.

Prosecutors say then-63-year-old Abdul Ghaffar was holding a coffee pot when Shaun King entered the Gaithersburg 7-Eleven where he worked and slashed him more than 70 times in January 2014.

The Washington Post reports King cried as he addressed Ghaffar's family members in Montgomery County Circuit Court on Friday. He told them the killing was his fault and said he hadn't been taking his medications.

A judge then committed King to a maximum-security psychiatric hospital in Jessup.

Ghaffar was a native of Pakistan who had seven children. Family members said he was working at three 7-Eleven stores to help pay for his children's education.

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(© Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

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