Police: SUV Involved in Teen’s Death Displayed Anti-Muslim Message in Rear Window

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (TheBlaze/AP) — An SUV involved in the death of a teenager outside a Somali community center had an anti-Muslim message displayed in the rear window at the time of the crash, Kansas City police confirmed.

Ahmed H. Aden, 34, deliberately ran the boy over, authorities said, adding that they’re charged him with murder. The FBI is investigating the case as a potential hate crime.

Abdisamad Sheikh-Hussein, 15, died at a hospital Thursday evening. WDAF-TVreported that his legs were severed in the crash.

More from WDAF:

Aden first told police that he lost control of his vehicle as he drove east on Admiral Blvd. and said he struck the teen by accident. However, he then told police he had been looking for a group of four men that had threatened to kill him in the past 10 days. He said he was actively seeking the group and armed himself a machete.

He said as he drove on Admiral, he thought he spotted one of the men who threatened him getting into a car with a group of people near the mosque. According to court documents, he turned his SUV towards the parked car and struck Hussein as he was getting into the car. He said it wasn’t his intention to kill the teen, but had mistaken him for a man who looked one who had threatened him.

The SUV had been seen in the area by patrol officers in late October with a message that compared the Koran to the Ebola virus, Kansas City police spokesman Darin Snapp told the Associated Press in an email.

Aden was held in jail Saturday. No attorney is listed for him in online court records.