St. Louis gunman was Somali immigrant

By JIM SALTER, Associated Press | June 14, 2013 | Updated: June 14, 2013 3:39pm


Photo By Jeff Roberson
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An unidentified woman and man walk away from the scene of a shooting after talking to police Thursday, June 13, 2013, in St. Louis. St. Louis police say an argument inside a business south of downtown escalated into gun violence, with a man shooting three other people before turning the gun on himself. Photo: Jeff Roberson

ST. LOUIS (AP) — The St. Louis businessman who killed three employees before turning the gun on himself was a Somali immigrant, described by friends as an intelligent man who was quick to reach out to other new-arriving Somalis, but who had lingering anger years after the divorce from his first wife.
Police say 59-year-old Ahmed Dirir walked into his business, AK Home Health Care LLC, on Thursday afternoon, got into a brief argument, and then shot his three employees. Killed were 44-year-old Khadra Muse of Olivette, Mo., 29-year-old Seaeed Abdulla of St. Louis, and 54-year-old Bernice Solomon-Redd of East St. Louis, Ill.
Dirir, Muse and Abdulla were all from Somalia, said Omar Jamal of the Somali mission to the U.N. Jamal, who often gets involved in issues of high interest involving Somalis in the U.S., said he spoke with several friends and relatives of Dirir and the victims, including the wives of Dirir and Abdulla.
The home health agency was headquartered in a small business incubator building in a former movie theater on Cherokee Street, a revitalizing mixed-race neighborhood about five miles south of downtown St. Louis.
Police Capt. Michael Sack said Dirir used a semi-automatic handgun. Video surveillance showed what appeared to be a verbal dispute, followed a short time later by shots that penetrated an inside wall, Sack said. Neighbors in other businesses in the building called police after hearing gunfire.
A records search found no previous criminal record for Dirir except a couple of speeding cases. There was no record that he had a permit to carry a firearm.

http://www.chron.com/news/crime/article/St-Louis-gunman-was-Somali-immigrant-4600338.php