What we know about the stabbing at a downtown Raleigh store that turned fatal
This story was updated on Thursday, April 20, 2023.
Raleigh police made an arrest two weeks after a fatal stabbing at a downtown convenience store.
Police arrested Taiseer “Taz” Zarka on April 19 and charged with him murder in the stabbing of a 27-year-old man at his store.
Zarka appeared in court for the first time for the charge on Thursday afternoon and was ordered by a judge to be jailed without bond.
Mark Garrity Jr. of Cary was hospitalized and died on April 6 after being stabbed on April 6 at Taz’s Supermarket One on South Wilmington Street. Officers responded to the store at 3:41 p.m that day.
Police questioned Zarka after witnesses alleged he stabbed Garrity, WRAL and CBS 17 reported. Police have not yet released details on how long their investigation was.
Police reviewed the store’s surveillance footage to see if the stabbing may have been self-defense, according to ABC11, The News & Observer’s news-gathering partner.
Store employees and witnesses said an argument broke out after Zarka accused the 27-year-old Garrity of stealing, media outlets reported.
Police have not released details about the weapon used, who it belonged to or what the two men may have been arguing about.
Police spokesman Lt. Jason Borneo, citing the ongoing investigation, did not answer questions from The N&O about Zarka, including how many times Garrity was stabbed.
A makeshift memorial for Garrity with flowers was set up by a tree outside of the convenience store this week.
A sign was taped to the tree with an image of Garrity reading “#JusticeForMark” and “You are loved and missed.”
What’s known about the man who was stabbed
Garrity, who grew up in Wake Forest and went to Heritage High School, leaves behind a grieving family that hasn’t received answers yet from authorities on their son’s death.
“It’s insane to think that someone should lose their life over anything in a convenience store,” Mark Garrity Sr. told an ABC11 reporter.
“Mark was a gentle soul, a kind young man, and just a kid at heart, now and forever,” reads an online obituary posted by Bright Funeral Home in Wake Forest.
When reached by phone Thursday, Garrity’s father referred The N&O to his son’s obituary.
Garrity was taken to WakeMed hospital after being stabbed, where a doctor told his parents that his injuries indicated “a very violent act,” according to his mother.
A third-party website with mugshots for arrests in Wake County includes an Aug. 7, 2022 arrest of Zarka with an assault charge, but The N&O could not confirm any such arrest or charge with police and court records.
Mark Garrity’s previous arrests
The week before the incident, Garrity was placed on probation after being convicted March 30 on a previous charge of felony breaking and entering, according to the N.C. Department of Correction.
An arrest warrant states that he broke into Istanbul Restaurant on Kildaire Farm Road in Cary in early March and was arrested on March 5.
He was charged with felony breaking and entering and felony larceny after breaking and entering.
Restaurant owner Deniz Bozal told The N&O by phone that Garrity had stolen power tools worth a few hundred dollars.
Bozal saw Garrity, whom he did not know, on security camera footage and reported it to police, he said.
“I was not worried about the tools, I was worried he would come back again,” he said.
Bozal said he was sorry to hear about his death.
“If he (had) said, ‘I’m sorry, I’m not coming back,’ I would say (it’s OK),” said Bozal. “I don’t want him to go to jail because of me.”
Before his March arrest, Garrity was last arrested in 2020 on a heroin possession charge, according to a warrant.
Zarka was previously interviewed in 2020 as part of The N&O’s coverage of downtown business owners facing challenges from the COVID-19 pandemic and damage from protests.
Zarka had said that protesters should not hurt businesses.
“Carry it peacefully, and there (are) measures for everything,” Zarka said. “There is no need for violence.”
This story was originally published April 11, 2023 at 6:13 PM with the headline "What we know about the stabbing at a downtown Raleigh store that turned fatal."
