Members of Rock Band Gunned Down in Brooklyn

 

The Yellow Dogs, originally from Iran, were granted asylum in the United States

A Brooklyn man shot and killed three members of Iranian-born indie rock band The Yellow Dogs early Monday before killing himself. There are conflicting reports on the relationship between the shooter, identified in some reports as Raefe Akhbar, with the band.

The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Akhbar had recently been kicked out of the group for selling equipment without permission, apparently leading to the events which claimed the lives of the bandmates, including singer Ali Eskandarian (known as Obaash), guitarist Soroush Farazmand (Looloosh) and drummer Arash Farazmand.

New York's police commissioner, Raymond Kelly, said Monday afternoon that the assailant was possibly a member of the Yellow Dogs or another group called the Free Keys. The motive was a dispute over money, Kelly said.

According to officials, the gunman showed up at 318 Maujer St. in the north Brooklyn neighborhood of Bushwick carrying a Century Sporter .308-caliber semi-automatic weapon with a 20-round magazine. He first shot and wounded a man standing outside the apartment building. The gunman then headed inside, where he fatally shot two people on the first floor and one (who was in his bed) on the third. 

The suspect then climbed to the building's roof, where he committed suicide.

The New York Post is reporting that he also fired into a first floor bathroom where two other residents were hiding, though these individuals were unharmed. According to the New York Times, a 22-year old man shot outside the building was taken to Elmhurst Hospital, where he was treated for a gunshot wound to the right arm.