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'Anything could trigger you' | Arlington office shooter sentenced to 45 years in prison

Mumeet Muhammad is convicted of shooting his ex-girlfriend in her Crystal City office in August 2019.

ARLINGTON, Va. — Editor's note: The above video is from August 16, 2022.

A man convicted of shooting his ex-girlfriend in her Crystal City office has been sentenced to 45 years in prison.

Judge Daniel Fiore handed down the sentence on Wednesday, about four months after a jury found Mumeet Muhammad guilty on several charges including assault and felon in possession of a firearm. 

Muhammad barged his way into his ex's office in Crystal City in August 2019, held her and another co-worker at gunpoint and shot her twice.

Prosecutors had wanted a life sentence in the shooting. 

Defense attorney Mark Thrash said his client was being “human” when he “overreacted” to seeing the shooting victim in a picture with another man.

Thrash also argued that his client didn’t intend to shoot the victim based on the bullet holes in the ground.

Judge Fiore told the court that the argument of overreaction is an “extremely dangerous thinking.” 

“I’ve heard no remorse whatsoever from you,” Fiore said. “You had a very dangerous preoccupation of blaming…anything could trigger you. Absolutely anything.”  

The victim expressed similar feelings in a statement read during a court hearing earlier this month.

Assistant Commonwealth's Attorney Katherine Milane read the victim impact statement out loud with Muhammad in the courtroom on Aug. 16.

RELATED: Victim says Crystal City workplace shooter incapable of remorse weeks before sentencing

In the statement, the victim said, "He is someone incapable of being reformed. Through this process I have not seen an ounce of remorse. I hope and pray he receives the maximum sentence allowed." 

Muhammad, who also went by the name "Tonie Macklin," had several run-ins with the law, according to court documents.

He pleaded guilty to murder and use of a firearm in March 1992. Even though Muhammad was sentenced to 35 years in prison, he was released on supervision on the medium level in June 2017; he was supposed to be under the supervision of an officer until June 2027.

A witness to the event said that Muhammad told a man that he was, "going to shoot him in the face," according to an affidavit. The man who Muhammad allegedly threatened and punched in the chest, according to the affidavit, appeared to be his girlfriend's brother.

After Muhammad was arrested, he was given a temporary restraining order in D.C. Superior Court.

U.S. Park Police said Muhammad was also arrested in Fort Dupont Park on a gun charge for a separate incident in August 2019.

RELATED: Alleged Arlington shooter is a convicted murderer with history of violence, court documents confirm

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