Muslim Teenager Killed In Hate Crime

Kansas City, Mo. – A Muslim teenager in Kansas City was hit and killed by a driver in a motor vehicle which was painted with anti-Islamic messages.

According to the friends of the victim, who was hit and killed in an accident that is under investigation as a possible hate crime, they had been given threats in recent weeks by an individual driving around with anti-Islamic messages painted on a vehicle.

Police have not confirmed whether the accident and the messages are linked with each other but individuals at the Somali Center of Kansas City said that they were given too many threats that they called the police. The connection between the two is also not shown in court records.

On Friday, 34-year-old Ahmed H.Aden was charged in Jackson County with first-degree murder and armed criminal action in the accident due to which Abdisamad Sheikh-Hussein, 15, sustained life-threatening injuries Thursday night at the center.

On Saturday, funeral services for Abdisamad are scheduled for 1 p.m. at the Islamic Society of Greater Kansas City.

Probable cause statement showed that Aden was driving the sport utility vehicle that struck the teen as the boy got into a motor vehicle and the accident happened on Thursday evening. A witness saw the teen “fly through the air” before the SUV ran over him. The teen’s legs were almost severed and he died in a hospital due to severe injuries.

Online court records show no any lawyer listed for Aden. Prosecutors are requesting a $250,000 bond.

Worshippers told that they saw a black SUV painted with threatening messages at the center and cruising around a nearby shopping area, in the weeks prior to the accident. One of the messages written was “Islam Is Worse Than Ebola”, which was told by 13-year-old Mohamed Ahmed. He added, “I would have thought the police would have taken care of it, but they didn’t”.

Mohamed Farah, a friend of the boy’s family told that he called police more than one time in October about a suspicious man who was coming around the center. About the teen’s death, he said, “I feel like I lost a part of my body”.

Court documents show that Aden crashed the SUV and got out of the motor vehicle with a knife. Passengers in the motor vehicle told police officers that they pursued Aden. A witness said the suspect swung what appeared to be a baseball bat at individuals and another witness reported that Aden pulled out a handgun and said, “Stay there” as he attempted to escape.

Aden initially told authorities that he lost control of his motor vehicle and an accident happened. After sometime, he said that he hit the teen because he thought he looked like a man who had given him threats several days earlier as showed by the probable cause statement.

Federal agents are helping in the investigation and “also have opened this matter as a federal civil rights investigation as a potential hate crimes violation”, told FBI spokeswoman Bridget Patton. The cause of the incident is under investigation. She also told that she couldn’t provide any information on why the case can be considered a hate crime.

According to 31-year-old Bakar Abdalla, the boy’s father was a teacher at the center.

The boy’s aunt, Khadra Dirir, said that her nephew regularly studied the Quran and had delivered a group prayer the night he died. She added, “If you asked him a verse, he could tell the chapter”.

News Source: www.CSMonitor.com