Thread: Boston police shoot and kill brother of Oakland imam

Boston police shoot and kill brother of Oakland imam

By David DeBolt
ddebolt@bayareanewsgroup.com

POSTED: 06/02/2015 04:10:28 PM PDT
UPDATED: 06/02/2015 08:04:02 PM PDT

OAKLAND -- A man shot and killed by terrorism investigators Tuesday in Boston is the younger brother of an imam at a North Oakland mosque who is questioning authorities' account of what led to the shooting. Authorities with the Joint Terrorism Task Force said they approached 26-year-old Usaama Rahim in Boston about 7 a.m. to question him about "some terrorist-related information." Rahim, who was under 24-hour surveillance, allegedly lunged at officers with a large military-style knife.

He was shot after police asked him to drop the knife, Boston Police Commissioner Williams Evans.

Ibrahim Rahim, the man's older brother, said his brother was at a bus stop on his way to work when the officers confronted him and shot him three times in the back.

"He was on his cell phone with my dear father during the confrontation needing a witness," Ibrahim Rahim wrote on Facebook. "His last words to my father who heard the shots were, 'I can't breathe.'

"We are deeply grieved by the loss of my younger brother," he said.

The elder Rahim, imam of Lighthouse Mosque, was traveling to Boston to be with family, his assistant imam Sundiata Rashid said outside the Oakland mosque Tuesday afternoon.

Ibrahim Rahim came to Oakland from Boston six months ago to lead the mosque on Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and was immediately a "positive force" for Oakland and its Muslim community, Rashid said.

Abdi Samatar, who came to the mosque for a daily prayer, described the imam as a peaceful preacher."(They) are grieving because of the loss and we feel it's a tragedy," Rashid said.

"This is one of the things that can happen ... another black man killed by law enforcement and a Muslim killed by law enforcement." Ibrahim Rahim could be not be reached for comment.

Before the shooting, Evans said officers repeatedly ordered Rahim to drop the knife, but he continued to move toward them with it. He said task force members fired their guns, hitting Rahim once in the torso and once in the abdomen. He was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Neither Evans nor Vincent Lisi, the special agent in charge of the Boston FBI office, would say why Rahim was under surveillance, but Evans said a "level of alarm" prompted authorities to try to question him Tuesday.

"Obviously, there was enough information there where we thought it was appropriate to question him about his doings," Evans said. "He was someone we were watching for quite a time."

Evans said the officers didn't have their guns drawn when they approached Rahim. He said police have video showing Rahim "coming at officers" while they are backing away.

Ibrahim Hooper, a spokesman for the Council of American-Islamic Relations, said the group will monitor the investigation.

"We have a number of questions: Why exactly was he being followed? What was the probable cause for this particular stop? Were there any video cameras or body cameras of the incident? How do you reconcile the two versions of the story, the family version being that he was on his normal commute to work at a bus stop?" Hooper said.

Boston voter registration records for Usaama Rahim list him as a student. Records indicate that as recently as two years ago he was licensed as a security officer in Miami but do not specify in what capacity.

On Tuesday afternoon, authorities raided a home in Everett in connection with the case.

"It's all part of a very active Joint Terrorism Task Force investigation," Boston police spokesman Lt. Michael McCarthy said.

The officer and the agent involved in the shooting were evaluated at a hospital for what Evans described as "stress," though they weren't physically injured.

Lisi said authorities "don't think there's any concern for public safety out there right now."

http://www.mercurynews.com/crime-cou...r-oakland-iman

http://www.alipac.us/f19/terrorist-s...on-cvs-319976/

"He was on his cell phone with my dear father during the confrontation needing a witness," Ibrahim Rahim wrote on Facebook. "His last words to my father who heard the shots were, 'I can't breathe.'

Let me slip into my hip boots on this one, the stuff is so deep. I am sure there is VIDEO somewhere....

And here it is - there is VIDEO! Looks like the brother is just lying like a prayer rug.

Police: Man shot dead lunged at police officer, FBI agent
DENISE LAVOIE
Jun 3rd 2015


BOSTON (AP) — Police said they have video showing a man who was under 24-hour surveillance by terrorism investigators lunging with a knife at a Boston police officer and an FBI agent before he was shot and killed — an account his brother has disputed.

A law enforcement official with knowledge of the investigation said Usaama Rahim had been making threats against law enforcement. The official was not authorized to release details of the investigation and spoke on the condition of anonymity.

Police Commissioner William Evans said members of the Joint Terrorism Task Force approached Rahim in the city's Roslindale neighborhood Tuesday morning to question him about "terrorist-related information" when he went at officers with a large military-style knife.

Evans said officers repeatedly ordered Rahim to drop the knife but he continued to move toward them with it. He said task force members fired their guns, hitting Rahim once in the torso and once in the abdomen. Rahim, 26, was taken to a hospital but died.

Late Tuesday, the FBI arrested a man in connection with the case. Christina DiIorio-Sterling, a spokeswoman for U.S. Attorney Carmen Ortiz, said David Wright was taken into custody at his home in suburban Everett. She said Wright will face federal charges and is expected to appear in court Wednesday.

DiIorio-Sterling wouldn't specify the charges, but confirmed they're related to the Rahim investigation.

Authorities also searched a home in Warwick, Rhode Island, but would not confirm that was linked to the Boston shooting.
Evans said authorities had been watching Rahim "for quite a time," but "a level of alarm" prompted them to try to question him Tuesday.

He said authorities knew Rahim "had some extremism as far as his views," but he would not confirm media reports that Rahim had been radicalized by online propaganda by the Islamic State group.

Evans said the officers didn't have their guns drawn when they approached Rahim. He said the video shows Rahim "coming at officers" while they were backing away.

That description differs from one given by Rahim's brother Ibrahim Rahim, who posted on Facebook that his youngest brother was killed while waiting at a bus stop to go to his job.

"He was confronted by three Boston Police officers and subsequently shot in the back three times," he wrote. "He was on his cellphone with my dear father during the confrontation needing a witness."

Ibrahim Rahim, a former assistant imam at a Boston mosque, could not be reached for more comment Tuesday. In an email, he said he was traveling to Boston to bury his brother.

The Suffolk district attorney's office and the FBI said they will investigate Rahim's shooting, a routine procedure for shootings involving police.

The Council of American-Islamic Relations will monitor the investigation, spokesman Ibrahim Hooper said.

"We have a number of questions," Hooper said. "Why exactly was he being followed? What was the probable cause for this particular stop? Were there any video cameras or body cameras of the incident? How do you reconcile the two versions of the story, the family version being that he was on his normal commute to work at a bus stop?"

Boston voter registration records for Usaama Rahim list him as a student. Records indicate that as recently as two years ago he was licensed as a security officer in Miami, but they don't specify in what capacity.

Yusufi Vali, executive director of the Islamic Society of Boston Cultural Center, said the center's security firm hired Rahim as a security guard for a month in mid-2013. Vali said Rahim did not regularly pray at the center and did not volunteer there or serve in any leadership positions.

Vincent Lisi, special agent in charge of the Boston FBI office, said authorities "don't think there's any concern for public safety out there right now."

http://www.aol.com/article/2015/06/0...d%3D1477888734

Boston terror suspects plotted to behead police officers, source says

Published June 03, 2015 FoxNews.com



NOW PLAYINGBoston terror suspect charged in plot to behead police
DEVELOPING: The man shot and killed Tuesday by Boston police was plotting with another suspect to behead a cop, a law enforcement source told FoxNews.com

The dead suspect, 26-year-old Usaama Rahim, was under surveillance by the Joint Terrorism Task Force when he was shot at about 7 a.m. near a CVS in the city's Roslindale neighborhood, when he brandished the blade at police. Later Tuesday, authorities arrested another suspect, David Wright, in connection with the case, police said.

"We believe the intent was to behead a police officer," one official told The Boston Globe. "We knew the plot had to be stopped. They were planning to take action Tuesday."

Rahim was shot outside a CVS Pharmacy in Roslindale, Mass. at approximately 7 a.m. Tuesday.

Boston Police Commissioner William Evans told reporters that members of the Joint Terrorism Task Force approached Rahim to question him about "terrorist-related information" they had received when he moved toward officers with the knife.

Evans said officers repeatedly ordered Rahim to drop the knife but he continued to advance. He said task force members fired their guns, hitting Rahim once in the torso and once in the abdomen. Rahim was taken to Brigham and Women's Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

More on this...

• Police identify man connected to terror suspect in Boston
  
  

Later, the FBI and local police arrested a man at a home in Everett, Mass., in an action authorities said was related to the Roslindale shooting. Christina Diorio-Sterling, a spokeswoman for U.S. Attorney Carmen Ortiz, said Wright was taken into custody from his home in suburban Everett. She said Wright will face federal charges and is expected to appear in U.S. District Court on Wednesday.

WFXT reported that three different Joint Terrorism Task Force teams had been carrying out 24-hour surveillance on at least three different people in the Boston area, though it was unclear how long that had been going on.The plot may have been inspired by the terror group ISIS, who have repeatedly called on followers in the United States to attack law enforcement officials or military installations.

Evans did not comment on the report that Rahim had been radicalized by ISIS, but said "Obviously, there was enough information there where we thought it was appropriate to question him about his doings ... He was someone we were watching for quite a time."

Evans said the officers didn't have their guns drawn when they approached Rahim. He said police have video showing Rahim "coming at officers" while they are backing away. That account differs from one given by Rahim's brother Ibrahim Rahim, who said in a Facebook posting that his youngest brother was killed while waiting at a bus stop to go to his job.

"He was confronted by three Boston Police officers and subsequently shot in the back three times," he wrote. "He was on his cellphone with my dear father during the confrontation needing a witness."

There is surveillance video from the scene which will be released after Rahim's family and civil rights advocates view the footage.

The officer and the agent involved in the shooting weren't physically injured but were evaluated at a hospital for what Evans described as "stress."

WFXT reported that Rahim worked in loss prevention at several CVS stores in the Boston area. However, it was not clear that the store where he was killed was among them. Boston voter registration records seen by the Associated Press list Rahim as a student. Other records indicate that as recently as two years ago he was licensed as a security officer in Miami, but don't specify in what capacity.

The Islamic Society of Boston Cultural Center said its security firm hired Rahim as a security guard for a month in mid-2013. Executive director Yusufi Vali said Rahim didn't regularly pray at the center and didn't volunteer there or serve in any leadership positions.

The FBI and Rhode Island State Police also searched a property in Warwick, R.I. in relation to the Roslindale shooting. Police sealed off a street, requiring anyone who lived there to show identification to pass the police cordon, but it was not clear if they had anyone in custody.

A 17-year-old told the Boston Globe that police had asked him about a neighbor in his mid-20s named Nick. The teen told the paper Nick often wears long robes and prays in his front yard.

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2015/06/03...ies-in-police/

Originally Posted by Newmexican

Let me slip into my hip boots on this one, the stuff is so deep. I am sure there is VIDEO somewhere....

Evans said the officers didn't have their guns drawn when they approached Rahim. He said police have video showing Rahim "coming at officers" while they are backing away. That account differs from one given by Rahim's brother Ibrahim Rahim, who said in a Facebook posting that his youngest brother was killed while waiting at a bus stop to go to his job.

"He was confronted by three Boston Police officers and subsequently shot in the back three times," he wrote. "He was on his cellphone with my dear father during the confrontation needing a witness."

There is surveillance video from the scene which will be released after Rahim's family and civil rights advocates view the footage.

From new article.

Usaamah Rahim, Suspect in Fatal Boston Police Shooting, Was Not Hit in Back: Clergy

by TOM WINTER

Boston Police Use Surveillance Video of a Homicide to Calm Community's Fears 1:08

A terror suspect killed by police in Boston was not shot in the back as his family claimed, community leaders said Wednesday after police took the unusual step of showing them footage of the encounter.

Usaamah Rahim, 26, was killed Tuesday morning after he was stopped for questioning in a terror investigation. Police said that he threatened them with a military-style knife as officers ordered him to stand down.

Rahim's family later claimed that he was on the phone when he was shot, and that he was hit in the back. Police said they showed the surveillance footage to community leaders, including Muslim leaders, in the name of transparency.

Darnell Williams, head of the Urban League of Eastern Massachusetts, said that the video "150 percent" corroborates the police account. Other leaders stopped short of calling the shooting justified, saying they wanted to know more.

Another suspect in the investigation, David Wright, was expected to face a federal judge Wednesday afternoon following his arrest just hours after Rahim's shooting.

While Rahim had been under surveillance for several weeks by the Boston Joint Terrorism Task Force, authorities have yet to detail the case against either man, their relationship or how far-reaching the investigation has become.

A senior official told NBC News on Tuesday that they were reviewing whether Rahim had become radicalized by ISIS-inspired social media messages and was plotting a possible attack.

After Terror Suspect Shooting, Boston Police Meet with Community Leaders 3:11

Rep. Michael McCaul, who chairs the House Homeland Security Committee, said at a hearing Wednesday that Rahim was spreading propaganda for ISIS.

Five officers and federal agents encountered Rahim on Tuesday morning in the parking lot of a CVS pharmacy in Boston's Roslindale neighborhood.

As they retreated, Rahim continued to move forward, and was shot three times in the front of his body, police said. They earlier said he was shot twice.

Rahim's brother, Ibrahim Rahim, claimed on social media after the shooting that his brother was struck three times in the back and stayed on the phone with their father because he wanted a witness.


Boston police show the knife taken from Usaama Rahim on June 2, 2015. Rahim was shot twice by police and FBI agents who were questioning him as part of a terrorism investigation.

NECN
Boston Imam Abdullah Faaruuq, who was allowed to watch the video, said that although the footage's images were "vague," Rahim did not appear to be obeying the officers' commands.

"We're not satisfied until (the case is) fully vetted," Faaruuq said at a news conference at police headquarters after viewing the tape.

Authorities declined to answer questions about the larger terrorism investigation.

After Tuesday morning's shooting, the investigation expanded to Wright's home in the Boston suburb of Everett, where he was arrested, and another address in Warwick, Rhode Island, law enforcement sources told NBC News.

Officials gave no immediate details about Wright, but Bunker Hill Community College in Boston confirmed he had been a student from fall 2010 until spring 2011.

Rahim, meanwhile, had attended the Islamic Society of Boston Cultural Center with his wife, but stopped going about two years ago, The Boston Globe reported.

A spokeswoman for the center, which maintains Boston's largest mosques, said in a statement Wednesday that Rahim's relationship with them was "limited" and he was hired as a security guard there for one month in 2013.

"Beyond this interaction, Mr. Rahim neither regularly prayed at the center nor volunteered nor served in any leadership positions," the statement said.

http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/...arance-n369051

Usaama Rahim forgot the first rule of survival on the streets.

DON'T BRING A KNIFE TO A GUNFIGHT.

You have to wonder if Usaama was really thinking clearly. You'd think that it would have been to his advantage to not have the interaction escalate to violence.
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Originally Posted by vistalad

You have to wonder if Usaama was really thinking clearly. You'd think that it would have been to his advantage to not have the interaction escalate to violence.

He wanted to die and become a martyr. He got his wish.