Three members of an underground Iranian band are now dead after one of their former bandmates fatally shot them Monday night before killing himself and wounding a fourth person.
The man allegedly went on a shooting spree just after midnight on Monday at a three-story building filled with recording and rehersal studios located in an area in East Williamsburg, reports CBS New York.
Police say the suspect, who was identified as Raefe Ahkbar, was carrying a .308 caliber rifle. He reportedly moved floor-by-floor through the building fatally striking three members of the Yellow Dogs and injuring a fifth person before shooting himself on the rooftop, the official said according to the Wall Street Journal. The rifle was found next to Ahkbar's body.
Ahkbar first allegedly killed the band's 27-year-old guitarist, Soroush Farazmand, who was found face-up in a second-floor bedroom with a gunshot wound to chest, say officials. Next, he moved to the third floor where the band's 35-year-old singer Ali Eskandarian and drummer Arash Farazmand were both found with gunshot wounds to the head, the official continued.
Sasan Sadeghpourosko, 22, was also shot twice in his right arm by the gunman, however, he survived and was transported to Elmhurst Hospital where he was listed in stable condition.
All of the members had recently arrived in the United States sometime in the past few years, police said.
Investigators believe Ahkbar was kicked out of the band some time in the past year for selling band equipment without the other member's knowledge, the official said.
In a CNN interview, the group described their music as rock played with bad equipment. They sang socially conscious lyrics in English about everything from Iranian oppression to American greed and consumerism.
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