Inset: Saleh Mohamed in court (WGRZ/YouTube). Background: The New York home where Saleh Mohamed allegedly killed his wife and two children, ages 4 and 3 (WKBW/YouTube).
A New York father annihilated his entire family with a 9 mm handgun, executing his two young sons and wife at their home before leaving to murder another person, officials say.
Saleh Mohamed, 29, allegedly showed back up at his home on Monday after the slayings, apparently not knowing that police were there conducting a welfare check.
"No one was answering the door at the house," explained Cheektowaga Police Department Chief Brian Coons at a press conference Tuesday. "He arrived shortly thereafter."
Local police and prosecutors say the father shot and killed his 26-year-old wife, Ayesha Abdullah, and their two young sons, ages 4 and 3, inside their Cheektowaga home before making a 15-minute drive to Buffalo to gun down a 43-year-old store and deli clerk.
Officials say Mohamed and the victims are all "from the same Yemeni community," but it hasn't been confirmed how Mohamed knew the store clerk.
"They're definitely connected," Erie County District Attorney Michael Keane told reporters about the shootings. "The defendant committed both incidents. He's been charged with murder in both cases."
Keane and Chief Coons said Mohamed used a legally registered 9 mm to commit the murders. "He does have a permit," Keane told reporters. "He does have a firearm on the permit. It's a 9 millimeter pistol, handgun."
Keane and Coons alleged that Mohamed used the 9 mm to kill his wife and the "little boys" on Monday afternoon. A family member asked police to conduct a welfare check, though it's unclear why.
"They were all found in the house," Keane said. "They were all shot to death."
Mohamed has no criminal record and authorities had never been to the home before, according to Coons. "This was our first time dealing with them," the chief said.
Neighbors told local NBC affiliate WGRZ that they heard people "arguing" inside the home before the shooting. "Then I heard like six or seven pops, like a nail gun going off," said one resident. "And then it was quiet, and then all sorts of hell broke loose with, like … people legitimately screaming."
The neighbor said she saw police take Mohamed into custody after he showed back up to the scene, telling WGRZ, "I think they tackled him in our front yard."
Mohamed was arrested and charged with one count of first-degree murder and three counts of second-degree murder in connection with the deaths of his wife and children. He was charged with one count of second-degree murder for the death of the store clerk.
Mohamed is being held without bail and is due to appear in court Friday.
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