Yusef Abdullah Rahman

Serial Killer

Yusef Abdullah Rahman: The Riverhead Sniper

Background

Yusef Abdullah Rahman, also known by the names Joseph Davis and Yussuf Amin, was an American gunman convicted of murders committed in Missouri and New York. Although he has sometimes been described as a serial killer, his known crimes also fit the pattern of a spree shooter because several of the attacks occurred on consecutive nights. Rahman became best known as the "Riverhead Sniper" after a series of apparently random shootings terrorized communities on eastern Long Island in December 1988. Rahman was born in Brooklyn, New York, in 1969. His father, Bilal Abdullah Rahman, was killed during a violent confrontation at a Brooklyn mosque in February 1974, when Yusef was five years old. During his childhood, Rahman moved with his family to Missouri and spent time in an isolated religious community near Kansas City. According to accounts later presented about his upbringing, he was exposed at a young age to military training, survivalist beliefs and repeated discussions of armed conflict. By his teenage years, Rahman had developed an intense fascination with guns, military clothing and combat exercises. He later told investigators that he had practiced mock military operations since he was six years old and had obtained his first handgun when he was approximately fourteen. Police would eventually describe him as a young man who imagined himself to be a commando carrying out missions against perceived enemies.

The Kansas City Shootings

Rahman lived in the Kansas City, Missouri, area under the name Joseph Davis. He reportedly occupied a crude encampment or shack in a wooded area and accumulated ammunition, military equipment and survivalist supplies. Kansas City investigators nicknamed him "Rambo" because of his appearance, living arrangements and obsession with combat tactics. Between July 28 and August 3, 1987, five men were fatally shot in separate incidents in the Kansas City area. Investigators suspected that Rahman may have been involved in all five deaths, although he was prosecuted for only one of them. Police initially considered the possibility that the shootings were connected to Rahman's stated hostility toward drug dealers, but the full circumstances surrounding the other Missouri killings were never conclusively established in court. Rahman was formally accused of murdering 21-year-old Frederick C. Beard. Beard was found inside a vehicle after being shot repeatedly in what investigators described as an execution-style killing. A warrant was issued for Rahman, but he left Missouri before he could be arrested. He was placed on the Kansas City Police Department's list of most-wanted fugitives, and the FBI issued a warrant charging him with unlawful flight to avoid prosecution. After his later conviction in New York, Rahman was extradited to Missouri. He pleaded guilty to Beard's murder and received a life sentence. That sentence was ordered to run concurrently with the lengthy prison term already imposed for the Long Island attacks. ...

Confirmed Victims: (3)

Bernard Timothy Heaney Age: (30), Date of Death: 1988-12-05

Suspected Victims:

Unnamed victim , Date of Death: July - August 1987

Survivors:

Theodore Squires Age: (39), Date of Attack: 1988-12-07

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