It was this past Friday that Main Saeidi says he spoke to his father, 86-year-old Hamoud Saeidi, for the last time.
“He told me he just finished praying. I told him happy Friday. And he told me 'God bless your son,' because I have a 6-year-old son,” Main Saeidi said.
Hamoud Saeidi, who immigrated to the U.S. from Yemen more than 40 years ago, was laid to rest after a funeral at the Beit El-Maqdis Islamic Center in the Sunset Park neighborhood of Brooklyn Monday, which was attended by loved ones and members of the Yemeni community.
What You Need To Know
- The Yemeni community laid to rest a beloved 86-year-old man who police say was killed during a shooting spree involving six different incidents on Saturday
- Police say the gunman rode around on a scooter shooting at people in Brooklyn and Queens, seemingly at random. Police say three other people hit by gunfire survived
- Hamoud Saeidi leaves behind a wife, six children, 30 grandchildren and 31 great-grandchildren
Main Saeidi says his father was walking to his mosque near his Jamaica home on Saturday when he was shot in his back and killed.
“He did not kill my father only,” Saeidi said. “He killed everyone in the community. He killed the whole family.”
Police believe Hamoud Saeidi was killed during a shooting spree involving six different incidents on Saturday. The gunman, according to police, rode around on a scooter shooting at people in Brooklyn and Queens, seemingly at random.
Thomas Abreu, 25, was walked out of the 107th Precinct in Queens while wearing handcuffs later that day. He has been charged with murder, attempted murder and criminal possession of a weapon.
“It looks like, like I said, police are now afraid to do their jobs,” said Ahmed Saeidi, another son of Hamoud Saeidi. “Why? We don’t know. There is something going on.”
Surveillance video shows the scene of the shooting on Jamaica Avenue in Queens that took the life of Hamoud Saeidi, who was a retired owner of multiple bodegas.
“Get unlawful guns off the street,” said Dr. Debbie Almontaser. “No civilian should be in danger walking in their own neighborhood.”
Almontaser is the board secretary of the Yemeni American Merchants Association, which called on the city, including citizens and police, to do more to crack down on illegal guns.
“Buybacks,” Almontaser said. “You know, you bring in a gun and you get a stipend for doing so.”
Saeidi leaves behind a wife, six children, 30 grandchildren and 31 great-grandchildren.
“A generous man,” said Main Saeidi. “A good man — a good family man that will be missed.”
Police say three other people were hit by gunfire during the shooting spree. One was hospitalized in critical condition. The other two were hospitalized in stable condition. It is unclear what the shooter’s motive was or if there even was a motive.