WASHINGTON — On New Year’s Eve, the family of a murder victim in D.C. got the news they have been waiting several years to hear.
An 18-year old man had been arrested and charged in connection with the killing of their son, Mohammed Abdulselam.
“We had information from this community that helped us get where we are today, and we had forensic evidence,” Police Chief Cathy Lanier said in an interview with NBC Washington. “Those two things together allowed us to finally bring closure to this family.”
Abdulselam was a gas station clerk in Southeast, working on the night of Oct. 17, 2011 when an armed robbery occurred, and he was gunned down.
“The suspect in this case shot and killed him simply because he was an employee at the store,” Lanier told NBC Washington.
After four years, investigators tracked down their suspect and arrested him on the final day of 2015. He was just 14 at the time of the crime, so his name has not been released and he will be charged as a juvenile.
Lanier told NBC Washington the cold case arrest sends a clear message.
“If you’re willing to commit a crime here, we might not get you today, but we’re not going to stop until we get you.”
See a report from NBC Washington:
