The shots rang out on a sunny afternoon on San Francisco's Haight St. at Masonic Ave sending pedestrians running and prompting a huge police response.

"I looked over there, I saw a man laying down on his back screaming he'd been shot,” said neighbor David Lewis.

Police say convenience store employee Sam Kazzouh fired at least two shots at a man who entered the store at 1:15 p.m. Wednesday afternoon.

"Two officers on foot patrol were in the neighborhood. They responded on foot and found a man down with a gunshot wound to his back," said Capt. Denis O'Leary of the San Francisco Police Department

Police said Kazzouh and the shooting victim, identified by his friends as Michael Stafford, knew each other and robbery does not appear to be a factor.

Kazzouh's brother Michael said the confrontation began after Stafford angrily accused Sam Kazzouh of kicking his dog.

suspect's brother "But he didn't kick his dog,” said Michael Kazzouh. “He moved him, it shows, the camera, move it with his foot."

Haight regulars said both men are well known and well liked in the neighborhood.

"The guy who was shot is actually like a poetry guy. You pay him like a dollar or two and he shows a poem," said Lewis.

"He said he couldn't feel his legs. And he was asking about his dog," said Michael Landers, a friend of Stafford.

Stafford was in critical condition at San Francisco General Hospital Wednesday night while Kazzouh was in San Francisco County Jail.