CAIRO – Days after the murder of three African American Muslim youth, very few information has been made available about the young men who were killed in execution-style at a Fort Wayne house last Wednesday.
The bodies of Mohamedtaha Omar, 23, Adam K. Mekki, 20, and Muhannad A. Tairab, 17, all of Fort Wayne, were found by police inside a home in the 800 block in East Lewis Street on Wednesday.
The coroner’s office said each died of gunshot wounds and ruled their deaths homicides.
Police authorities said that each was shot “multiple” times in an “execution-style” murder, ruling out that the boys were related to gangs.
All three had different addresses and were not believed to be related.
“Right now I can’t say it’s a hate crime” and “The Fort Wayne Police Sheriff reported that it wasn’t in anyway related to any gang activity,” Mustafa Kedio, the father of Mohamed Taha, was quoted by Muslim Matters website on Sunday, February 28.
He insisted “my boy and the other two have never been involved with gangs and they do not have one thing in any of their records.”
Eidi Mohamed, 20, a student at IUPI and employee for an interfaith organization said he knew all three of the Sudanese boys in middle school as “really into sports, specifically soccer.”
“There are a few news channels here covering but it really isn’t getting attention like the Chapel Hill shooting,” he went on to say.
Asked whether or not the area has a history of overt racism towards Blacks or Muslims Mohamed recalled, “I’ve always heard about racist things going on in Fort Wayne, parts of Fort Wayne have a lot of African Americans and African Immigrants.”
This is not the first time to find Muslim youth killed in execution-style.
Deah Shaddy Barakat, 23 his wife Yusor Mohammad Abu-Salha, 21 and her sister Razan Mohammad Abu-Salha, 19, were fatally shot Feb. 10, 2015, at the couple’s condominium in Chapel Hill.
A neighbor, Craig Stephen Hicks, has been charged with murder in their deaths and could face the death penalty if convicted.
Good Boys
As few reports made their way to media, Emily McCormick, Mekki’s friend, sent the following statement to NewsChannel 15.
“Adam was the guy that everyone at North Side knew. He was always the one who would make you laugh, make you feel better, and be your friend when you were in need of one,” she wrote.
“I didn’t have the opportunity to meet the other two gentlemen, but nonetheless, I’ve only heard great things. Losing them has been a great tragedy, and has really hit home on so many different types of people.
“I hope whoever did this is brought to justice, and that their families have what they need to heal and process the loss of these three great men,” McCormick added.
Valerie Handschu also knew Mekki and Omar from her time working at the Salvation Army Youth Center, which the two attended.
Mekki was “sweet and genuine and was just full of joy and energy,” she told WANE.
She described Omar as someone who “could make anybody laugh” and “could find a connection with any type of person.”
The murder was a shock to the Muslim community who mourned the loss of the three young boys.
“They will always be remembered as good kids,” Abdelaziz Hassab, a relative of Omar and Tairab, told WANE at their funeral.
“We all came here to find like peace and security away from war zones. But the destiny waiting for us here is … really crazy.