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Suspect in ‘execution-style’ murders of two Seattle gay men may be in N.J.

Suspect in ‘execution-style’ murders of two Seattle gay men may be in N.J.

SEATTLE — Prosecutors in King County, Wash., have filed aggravated murder charges against a transient accused of the June 1 execution-style shooting deaths of two young Seattle men shortly after they left a gay nightclub.

Ali Muhammad Brown
Ali Muhammad Brown is wanted in the slayings of two gay men in Seattle.

Seattle Police Chief Kathleen O’Toole says police are working with law enforcement in New Jersey, where 29-year-old Ali Muhammad Brown has been linked to a robbery and carjacking last weekend in Point Pleasant Beach.

Police and prosecutors have not determined a motive for the June 1 murders of 23-year-old Dwone Anderson-Young and 27-year-old Ahmed Said, but say they believe Brown met the victims through a personal meetup mobile app, according to court documents released Wednesday.

Anderson-Young’s mother said he was gay, and friends of Said have also indicated that he too was gay, according to local media reports.

“It is evident that the murders were premeditated and unprovoked and part of a common scheme or plan,” Senior Deputy Prosecutor Wyman Yip wrote in charging documents. “The evidence from the crime scene, Said’s vehicle, and the autopsies suggest that the victims were essentially executed.”

Both victims were shot in the head and there was no evidence that a struggle preceded the killings.

Police said Anderson-Young and Said were hanging out at R Place, a gay nightclub in Seattle’s Capitol Hill neighborhood, on May 31 and met up with a man identified as a friend of Said’s outside the club, reports the Seattle Times.

One of Anderson-Young’s friends, who saw the stranger, told police that he was “creeped out” by Said’s friend and declined Said’s offer of a ride home, police wrote in charging documents.

Another friend of Anderson-Young said Said “continually talked about meeting someone outside the club later.” The friend told police that at the club that night, Said appeared to be texting over Jack’d or Grindr, two gay social networking sites, charges said, although the actual app used is unknown or was not disclosed.

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After taking a look at the stranger, that friend also declined Said’s offer for a ride home, charges said.

Police say Brown, Said and Anderson-Young drove to Anderson-Young’s house, where Brown pulled a gun and killed the two men then drove off in Said’s car.

The vehicle, found abandoned in South Seattle, contained an exorbitant amount of blood in the passenger seat and Brown’s palm print was found on the interior rear driver’s side window. Spent 9 mm shell casings that matched the casings found at the crime scene were also found in the abandoned car.

Brown’s whereabouts are unknown. Police in New Jersey say he may be responsible for a robbery in that state last weekend.

Associated Press contributed to this report.
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