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Community Mourns Somali Muslim Teen's Death in Kansas City Hate Crime
Devastated family, friends and schoolmates of a 15-year-old boy killed in a horrific hit-and-run car crash that is being investigated as a hate crime gathered for his funeral on Saturday.
A large community of Somali Muslims in Kansas City, Missouri, is still in shock after the boy died on Thursday evening, when a man appeared to deliberately drive his vehicle into him as he was leaving a local mosque.
Abdisamad Sheikh-Hussein, 15, almost had his legs severed when a man whom locals said had been harassing the community with anti-Islamic taunts and violent threats apparently swerved his car and ploughed into the boy.
Ahmed Aden, 34, a local Somali of Christian faith, appeared in court the following day, charged with first-degree murder and other crimes.
Multi-faith messages of support were sent for Abdisamad’s family and the stunned community as the boy’s loved ones prepared to say their last goodbyes in a service on Saturday at the Islamic Society of Greater Kansas City.
A friend who was with Abdisamad was also hurt in the collision.
“It became pretty clear that this was not an accidental crash, there is a considerable amount of evidence that leads us to believe it was intentional,” said Sergeant Bill Mahoney of the Kansas City Police Department.
The boy’s father, Adullahi Mohamud, was an assistant to the imam and a teacher and the mosque. News reports said he and his wife Hawa have three other children. Mohamud was enveloped in tearful embraces at the mosque in a sombre prayer services on Friday.
His son had just led prayers early on Thursday evening and was about to get into a Toyota car parked outside to leave and go to the gym when a black SUV hurtled into him. Witnesses said it knocked him into the air before he landed and was run over by the vehicle.
Source: www.theguardian.com