Milwaukee man shoots community service officer dead over grass clippings: Police
09/02/2020 2:33 pm PDT
via WITI:
MILWAUKEE (WITI) -- Milwaukee resident Mohammed Afzal, 65, has been charged with first-degree reckless homicide in the fatal shooting of Milwaukee Police Community Service Officer Naeem Sarosh.
Sarosh was fatally shot at a residence near 22nd Place and Layton Avenue on the evening of Monday, Aug. 31. According to the criminal complaint, police were dispatched to the residence and found Sarosh shot on a front stoop. Lifesaving measures were attempted, but Sarosh was pronounced deceased on the scene.
The complaint indicates Afzal is Sarosh's next-door neighbor -- and that the shooting "incident was captured on video and the defendant confessed." The complaint says the "shooting occurred after the defendant or someone from the defendant's household mowed the defendant's lawn and left grass clippings on the victim's adjoining property. The victim knocked on the defendant's side door to complain about the grass clippings. The defendant came to the side door, and the two men had a discussion about the grass clippings. During the discussion, the defendant fired a gun at the victim."
In an interview with police, Afzal "admitted shooting the victim" -- and said "he came to the door already carrying his pistol." Afzal told police "because the victim had his hands in his pockets, he thought the victim had a gun, so he shot him. He said that after shooting the victim, he went inside, put his gun away, and changed clothes because he knew the police would be coming for him."
Community service officers are civilians -- not sworn police officers -- hired specifically for non-emergencies. They are not armed. Police said Sarosh was not on duty at the time of his death.
The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel reports that for a reason unbeknownst to both of their families, Afzal did not like Sarosh, who spent several years living next to each other and had recurring disputes, according to the criminal complaint.
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