Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - At around 2:30 p.m. on Monday at a store along Grant Street in Buffalo's Black Rock neighborhood, 29-year-old Saleh Mohamed is accused of entering and shooting a 43-year-old store clerk inside. Mohamed was then said to have fled the scene, and the clerk inside the store eventually succumbed to his wounds on site.
Mohamed then went to his home in the Town of Cheektowaga about an hour later, where he is further accused of killing his wife and two children.
The Cheektowaga man was later apprehended by authorities that evening, and is now facing multiple murder charges as the result of his killing spree.
In the aftermath of Monday's shooting in the Black Rock neighborhood, some are still stunned by what had taken place.
"I go to that store every day, and he was the nicest man you would ever meet in your life," said Chris from Kenmore while calling in to WBEN on Tuesday. "This guy would go out of his way, he'll give you the shirt off his back. Why does it kind of happen to people like that? Why is it got to happen at all? I'm stunned by it. I am absolutely stunned, and feel so bad for the family. That store is open no matter what, they never close. This just stinks."
While North District Councilman Joe Golombek says he did not know the man killed at the store that well, his heart breaks for that man's family, as well as the mother and children of Mohamed's that he's accused of killing.
"It's very sad," said Golombek with WBEN. "I received phone calls from several of the neighbors probably before the police were even there, because I know a few of the people over there very, very well. People were just very frightened, they didn't know what happened. I mean, not that there's ever any good news out of something horrible like this, but it doesn't look like it was a random act of violence. It was targeted, and, at least, it wasn't like they were coming down the street shooting people or something like that. But it's still horrific and it's tragic, especially with the extension that the wife and the children were killed. It's just tragic."
Golombek says this incident rattled a number of his constituents in the Black Rock neighborhood, but believes there is a sense of relief, knowing this was a targeted shooting.
"It wasn't like you were walking down the street and you could have been shot. This was, it looks like, somebody going after somebody in particular. So there's a little bit of a relief in that regard, but once again, it is just tragic," Golombek said. "What if I would have stopped in there when I was walking by to grab a water, an iced tea and this would have happened? Who knows what could have happened? It could have been even more tragic."
Buffalo Mayor Sean Ryan says the crimes happening now across different parts of the city have been a bit different.
"Most of the crimes that we've been seeing since it got warm have been one-off crimes and not related to any previous crimes," Ryan said on Tuesday. "A lot of our policing is set up that once there's a violent act, we flood into those neighborhoods to make sure there's not a retaliatory act. But the recent shootings we see don't fit into any of those patterns. It seems to be interactions that produces violence, then that one's done, and then another interaction - unrelated - happens."
Ryan notes it's been a mission of new police commissioner Erika Shields to work closely with the community police officers to build stronger relationships with community members, all in an effort to get a handle on what's happening right now.
"Crime and acts of crime are all moving targets. Sometimes you fall into patterns with that, and we've done a good job of interrupting the pattern crimes, but what we've been seeing in the six weeks is something different. That is just a series of crimes unrelated to any other crimes," Ryan added.
So what's the message from city leaders in light of another act of violence, such as Monday's shooting along Grant Street?
"We're all concerned primarily for the safety of our citizens. We're going to keep working in conjunction with other police departments, because as you see, these crimes don't stay in any neat geography. It seems that a crime that started on Grant Street then transferred over the jurisdiction into Cheektowaga," Ryan said. "It's always good to keep in mind that crime doesn't stay in one spot. So it's often multiple policing jurisdictions working together to really get the outcomes that we want, and that's what we have set up is open communication between Buffalo and, in this instance, Cheektowaga."
As for Golombek, he says if you see something suspicious in your neighborhood, report it so the proper authorities know there are problems taking place.
"There's no problem that's too small," Golombek added. "I had a call this morning where a couple people said, 'Oh, my car was ransacked.' I said, 'Please call 3-1-1 and do a report.' If the police don't know about it, if it's not a legally documented call, they're not going to turn an extra eye with extra police enforcement or drive-bys in a specific neighborhood. So I encourage people to report everything."
Another simple message from Golombek is don't be afraid to be a watchful eye for your neighborhood.
"Something very, very simple is also sitting out on your front porch once in a while," he said. "I do that and read a book on occasion, and I noticed that last year - as an example - when I first started doing it, there were young kids that were walking up and down the street, and I'd say hello to them. And it got to the point where those young kids weren't walking up and down the street anymore. I'm not saying they were necessarily creating a problem, but they just weren't there anymore. And if people were out-and-about a little bit more, sitting on their front porch - not being overly nosy, but just being there, having that light on - I think it dissuades people from causing trouble in specific areas."
