In the pre-dawn hours of August 28, 2011, Naim Bashir Jama, a 23-year-old African-American man of Somali descent, was visiting Minneapolis from his home in Canal Winchester, Ohio. He and four friends had just left the Abubakar As-Saddique Islamic Center after evening prayers during the holy month of Ramadan. They were walking to a nearby store to get something to eat before the day's fasting would begin.
As the group walked in an alley in the 2700 block of 13th Avenue South, they were confronted by two men. According to friends of Jama, the two men began insulting them with what was described as "gang language." One of the aggressors then indicated he had a gun, causing Jama and his friends to turn and run for safety. The men opened fire, loosing approximately a dozen shots at the fleeing group. Four of the friends managed to escape unharmed and make it back to the mosque.
When they went back to look for Jama, they found him lying face down in the alley. He had been shot in the head. Emergency services were called at approximately 4:30 a.m., and Jama was transported to a hospital. He was placed on life support but succumbed to his injuries about 12 hours later. Family members described him as a kind, calm, and responsible young man who was the oldest of a large group of siblings and was about to start his freshman year at Ohio State University.
In the immediate aftermath of the shooting, Minneapolis police appealed to the public for any information that could lead to the identification and capture of the two men responsible for Naim Jama's death. However, no arrests have ever been publicly announced in connection with the murder. The suspects, two men whose identities remain unknown, have not been apprehended, and the case of Naim Jama's killing appears to remain unsolved.
