Former Yellow Dogs Musician Kills Bandmates in Murder-Suicide
Credit: Miikka Skaffari/FilmMagic
A former member of Brooklyn-based dance-punk group the Yellow Dogs has reportedly killed three of the group's musicians. The man, identified as Raefe Akhbar, used a semi-automatic rifle to shoot the men early Monday morning, wounding another and killing himself in a murder-suicide rampage. The incident occurred in Bushwick, Brooklyn, at the apartment the band shared after emigrating to the U.S. from Tehran, Iran, in 2011.
The tragic incident reportedly stemmed from Akhbar's frustration over having been kicked out of the band after being accused of stealing equipment and money. "He said something like 'Why did you bring me over here [from Iran] and then throw me out?'" said a source close to the situation.
This was apparently all the motivation Akhbar needed to fuel his retribution, descending on the Brooklyn apartment armed to the teeth. Once inside, he murdered 27-year-old guitarist Soroush Farazmand in the second-floor bedroom, and then asceneded to the third floor, where he killed 35-year-old vocalist Ali Eskandarian and drummer Arash Farazmand. He then went outside the building and wounded a man named Sasan Sadeghpourosko, who is not believed to be a member of the band. Akhbar then took his own life. The Yellow Dogs' guitarist Siavash Karampour and bassist Koory Mirz were unharmed. According to reports, approximately 45 shots were fired.
"You always see them coming in and out of their house with their musical instruments in cases. They seemed like great kids, never bothered anybody," said 63-year-old neighbor Martin Greenman. "They resembled each other with the curly black hair and the tight jeans. They looked like typical hipsters."
The group had achieved small success, being featured in the 2009 Cannes-winning feature, No One Knows About Persian Cats, in addition to being featured in a CNN segment on Middle Eastern artists. "They think I'm an anarchist," guitarist Karampour said in the piece, later saying, of his bandmates, "They're like my brothers. They're more close than my brothers."
Such a horrific, needless tragedy. My thoughts are with the families of the victims.
Via: Rolling Stone