Seven months before police say he gunned down his ex-girlfriend at a Nordstrom store off North Michigan Avenue, Marcus Dee was accused of cracking her ribs, punching her in the jaw and putting a gun in her mouth.



The accusations came in a request for an order of protection filed by the sister of Nadia Ezaldein, who was fatally shot while working at the store last Friday, her 22nd birthday. Police say Dee then turned the gun on himself as customers scrambled for cover on one of the busiest shopping days of the year.



"He physically abused my sister, cracked her ribs, punched her jaw and fractured it, ripped all her clothing," the sister claimed in seeking a protection order for her and Ezaldein on April 8.



Dee, 31, also "stabbed her jacket with a switch knife, ripped her boots and bruised her lip. (He) threw her clothes out the window and put (a) gun in her mouth," the petition states.



The petition was filed a day after Dee had requested an order of protection of his own against the sister, arguing that she "threatened to have her brother kill me."



Dee also claimed that Ezaldein's sister said she would "get me arrested" and "kicked out of the Army."



Judges denied both petitions, and there's no indication either side went back to court in the months before the shooting.



Last Friday, Ezaldein was working as a seasonal employee while her family planned a surprise birthday dinner after her shift. Dee approached her on the second floor of the store and they spoke briefly, according to the police report.



When Ezaldein turned and walked away, Dee pulled out a gun and shot her in the head, the report said. He then shot himself in the head, according to the report.



Dee was dead at the scene and Ezaldein was pronounced dead the next day.



Ezaldein began dating Dee in August 2012 after meeting him through her older sister's roommate, her family said. Dee physically abused and beat Ezaldein throughout the relationship, which ended last December when Dee put the gun in her mouth, the victim's family said.



In the year since, Dee had harassed both Ezaldein and her family, making threatening calls to her father and siblings, relatives said. Ezaldein changed her number three times, they said.



Relatives said Ezaldein was hesitant to report the abuse and harassment because Dee's parents are Chicago police officers.