The Yellow Dogs, a group of four Iranian men who played on the underground scene in Tehran before finding success in the U.S., were bound for international stardom before a fellow Iranian musician cut two of them (and a friend) down with an assault rifle.
While a motive is still unclear, there are rumors that the shooter–Ali Akbar Mohammadi Rafie–had soured his relationship with the band as well as with his own band, the Free Keys, after coming to America in 2011. Accusations that Rafie had stolen money from members of his band began to fly, and soon he found himself struggling to make it while the Yellow Dogs were chasing success in various venues around New York.
What authorities have pieced together is haunting; Rafie reportedly stashed his gun inside an empty guitar case, climbed onto rooftops to gain access to the Brooklyn home where members of the Yellow Dogs lived, and shot through a window before bursting in to open fire inside the home. He found 28-year old Arash Farazmand, the Yellow Dogs’ drummer, in his bedroom and shot him before finding his brother, 27-year old guitarist Soroush Farazmand, on the second floor. He was shot in the chest.
A third musician who was not a part of the Yellow Dogs, 35-year old Ali Eskandarian, was shot as well when Rafie fired through the window. Rafie allegedly fired down a hallway in the home, striking another resident in the arm twice, before heading back to the roof, where he shot himself in the head.
Any answers the police might find are slow in coming, but an investigation is underway.
Image: YouTube