An Iranian-born, Brooklyn-based rock musician has shot and killed three people, including two members of the band The Yellow Dogs, before killing himself according to multiple American reports this morning.
The New York Times has identified the shooter as 29-year-old Ali Akbar Mohammadi Rafie, formerly of Iranian band the Free Keys. The Yellow Dogs' manager, Ali Salehezadeh, said that the “two groups were acquaintances in the past” and a “personal conflict between the guys resulted in the dissolution of their relationship in 2012.”
The band's guitarist Soroush Farazmand and their drummer Arash Farazmand were killed.
The third victim was another musician and friend of the band, Ali Eskandarian.
A fourth victim, Sasan Sadeghurosko, was taken to hospital with a gunshot wound in his arm. He has been released from hospital.
Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said that authorities believed the dispute to be “over money involving an indie rock band.”
It is believed Rafie gained access to a three-storey townhouse in Brooklyn's East Williamsburg and descended to the third and second floors, where he carried out the shootings. He shot himself on the roof.
Yellow Dogs had left Tehran in Iran after seeking asylum in America. Former in Iran, they had to rehearse in secret to avoid punishment by the authorities who've outlawed rock music.
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