Babul Meah, a 59-year-old male of Bangladeshi descent, was a handyman contracted to perform repairs on a house on Zenner Street in Buffalo, New York, that was in the process of being sold. On the afternoon of April 27, 2024, at approximately 12:30 p.m., Meah and his co-worker, Abu Yousuf, arrived at the supposedly vacant property to begin their work. Unbeknownst to them, a homeless man named Dale O. Cummings was squatting in the upper apartment of the residence.
As the two handymen entered the home, they were met with a hail of gunfire. Cummings, using an illegal rifle, shot both men multiple times. Yousuf died on the front porch, while Meah was critically injured and rushed to a nearby hospital, where he later succumbed to his wounds. The shooting was described by authorities as unprovoked, vicious, and cold-blooded.
The initial police response to the 911 calls of shots fired led them to what they believed was a barricaded situation, with the gunman still inside the Zenner Street house. SWAT teams and additional resources were called to the scene. However, when law enforcement eventually made entry into the home after obtaining a search warrant, they found it empty. Investigators later discovered that Cummings had already fled the scene. A crucial piece of evidence, a receipt found inside the house, led police to surveillance footage from a convenience store that captured images of the suspect. After releasing the images to the public, police received tips that helped them identify Cummings.
The day after the murders, on April 28, 2024, Buffalo Police located Dale O. Cummings in the area of East Delavan and Norfolk Avenues. He matched the description provided by eyewitnesses. At the time of his arrest, Cummings was carrying a backpack containing a loaded rifle with a high-capacity magazine. Forensic analysis later confirmed that this was the same weapon used to kill Babul Meah and Abu Yousuf. Furthermore, DNA found on the rifle was a match to Cummings. The senseless killings sent shockwaves of fear and anger through Buffalo's Bangladeshi community, who mourned the loss of two of their own. Hundreds turned out for a traditional Islamic funeral prayer to honor the lives of both men. While Yousuf was buried in Buffalo, Meah's family chose to have him laid to rest in Maryland, where he had lived for 30 years.
Dale O. Cummings, who was 31 at the time of his arraignment, was charged with one count of Murder in the First Degree, two counts of Murder in the Second Degree, and counts of Criminal Possession of a Weapon. He pleaded not guilty. In June 2025, a jury found Cummings guilty of murder and weapons possession after deliberating for about two hours. On November 6, 2025, Dale O. Cummings was sentenced to the maximum penalty of life in prison without the possibility of parole. He also received additional time for the weapons charges, to be served concurrently. The Erie County District Attorney stated that he hoped the conviction and maximum sentence would bring a sense of justice to the families of the victims, who were survived by their wives and several children.
