UPDATE: The identity of the shooter has been called into question. The NYPD reports that Raefe Ahkbar was not the shooter. The identity of the true gunman has not been released, but the BBC is reporting that he was a member of another Iranian band called The Free Keys. It's believed that Ahkbar was initially suspected due to his recent release from the band. Please take this update into consideration when reading the rest of the story, written prior to the update.
A band from Brooklyn was sadly at the center of a shooting in Bushwick, apparently instigated after the shooter, Raefe Ahkbar, was kicked out of The Yellow Dogs.
Ahkbar had been terminated for reportedly stealing money and selling parts of The Yellow Dogs' equipment. He came to the apartment where members of the band lived on Monday morning, he killed guitarist Soroush Farazmand, before going upstairs and killing vocalist Ali Eskandarian as well as drummer Arash Farazmand. Another bystander, Sasan Sadeghpourosko, was wounded before Ahkbar turned his gun on himself. Using a semiautomatic rifle, an unnamed source told the New York Post that they heard around "45 shots." Additional guitarist Siavash Karampour and bassist Koory Mirz were not not harmed.
The band had emigrated to the United States during 2010. Another source told the paper that Ahkbar reportedly yelled "'Why did you bring me over here [from Iran] and then throw me out?'" before carrying out the shootings.
The Yellow Dogs were first brought to American awareness through its role in the 2009 film No One Knows About Persian Cats, which featured the band's song "New Century" in its soundtrack. The film would win a prize at the festival. Thanks to the appearance on the Cats soundtrack, CNN featured the group as part of a series on artists and musicians from the Middle East. The group spoke of the dangers of playing rock music in a state that considers the form "un-Islamic," a factor that eventually inspired the band to travel to the U.S.
