Murder of Muslim Teenager in Kansas Investigated as Hate Crime

Friends of a Muslim teenager who was run down and killed in a crash that’s being investigated as a possible hate crime said they had been alarmed in recent weeks by someone driving around with anti-Islamic messages painted on a vehicle.

A Department of Motor Vehicles photo courtesy the family shows Abdisamad Sheikh-Hussein. The 15-year-old was struck and killed by a hit-and-run driver in front of the Somali Center of Kansas City, Mo., Thursday, Dec. 4, 2014. AP Photo

KANSAS CITY, Mo.—Friends of a Muslim teenager who was run down and killed in a crash that’s being investigated as a possible hate crime said they had been alarmed in recent weeks by someone driving around with anti-Islamic messages painted on a vehicle.

Police haven’t said whether the crash and the messages are connected and there’s no mention of them in court records. But people at the Somali Center of Kansas City say they were alarmed enough to call police.

Men gather to pray the day after 15-year-old Abdisamad Sheikh-Hussein was struck and killed by a hit-and-run driver in front of the Somali Center of Kansas City, Mo., Friday, Dec. 5, 2014. AP Photo/The Kansas City Star, Keith Myers