The Westbrook man accused of shooting someone inside the Maine Mall had retreated into the food court bathroom while the victim was being treated, and left before police arrived, prosecutors said Friday at his first court appearance.

Ahmed Basheer Awad, 20, of Westbrook. Photo courtesy South Portland police

Ahmed Basheer Awad, 20, appeared via Zoom in Cumberland County Superior Court, where Justice John O’Neil set his bail at $250,000 cash.

Awad faces charges of elevated aggravated assault, a Class A crime, and reckless conduct with a dangerous weapon. He was not yet required to enter a plea.

He turned himself in to the Cumberland County Jail on Thursday afternoon “without incident” after police obtained a warrant for his arrest, according to a city spokesperson.

His temporary attorney on Friday had asked for a lower bail, saying the case points to Awad acting in self-defense.

Prosecutors at Friday’s hearing said Awad was captured on surveillance video being dropped off in front of the mall and immediately going into the men’s bathroom around the same time as the victim. South Portland Police Chief Daniel Ahern said in an email that the department doesn’t anticipate anyone else being charged in the shooting.

The footage showed the victim “crawling” out of the bathroom and “writhing in pain” after allegedly being shot by Awad. Then, the shooter appeared to speak with the victim and point a gun at him, but did not shoot again, prosecutors said. Police have not identified the victim, who is in his 20s.

The suspect retreated into the bathroom while Maine Mall security administered a tourniquet to the victim, according to prosecutors. He left through the food court exit before police arrived.

The victim was brought to the hospital with a gunshot wound to his upper right leg and is expected to survive, according to authorities.

A police officer tapes off an area around the entrance to the food court where police responded to a shooting at the Maine Mall Wednesday. Shawn Patrick Ouellette/Portland Press Herald

Officers were alerted to the shooting around 3:40 p.m. Wednesday after gunshots rang out and people fled the food court. South Portland police and multiple law enforcement agencies then secured all 15 exits to the mall minutes later, Ahern said.

The mall was closed for several hours as police searched for the suspect. It’s unclear exactly when police determined he had left the building.

The building broadcast an evacuation message for shoppers while mall employees locked their stores and sheltered in place with customers until police relieved them around 7:30 p.m., after several hours of a “slow, methodical” search for the suspect.

This was the first shooting inside the mall that Deputy Chief Kevin Gerrish could remember in his 23 years working for the city. Ahern said the shooting may prompt more training with mall staff.

Customers and employees returned to the Maine Mall Thursday, concerned but determined to return to work and their “home away from home,” as one shopper described it.

‘RISK TO THE COMMUNITY’

Two responding officers who had arrested Awad in 2023 recognized him in the footage, prosecutors said, which was later compared to his booking photo at the Cumberland County Jail. They had identified him by 8 p.m., Ahern said.

Awad was previously charged with carrying a concealed weapon, but the charge was later dropped, according to a criminal background check through the Maine Bureau of Investigation. He was also convicted of violating conditions of release in 2023.

Ahmed Basheer Awad, the suspect in the Maine Mall shooting appears in court for his arraignment via Zoom on Friday. Shawn Patrick Ouellette/Portland Press Herald

The state originally asked for Awad’s bail to be set at $100,000 in cash because he poses a “very serious risk to the community” if released. Prosecutors noted that along with his single conviction, Awad faced a civil violation in 2023 of failing to inform police that he was carrying a handgun.

Randall Bates, who represented the defendant as the court-appointed lawyer of the day, asked that Awad have a lower, more reasonable bail, though he didn’t specify an amount.

Bates said Awad has only one conviction on his record and poses no risk of failing to appear in court. He also said the case clearly points to Awad acting in self-defense, especially because the police report shows “the alleged victim is uncooperative.”

Regardless, O’Neil said, the safety of the public is still at risk because the suspect brought a gun into Maine Mall. He set the bail at $250,000 along with conditions set by the state, which include not having any firearms or dangerous weapons and not going into South Portland.