Shukri Muthana, 43, was shot and killed while working as a store clerk and deli owner in Buffalo on June 1, 2026. The shooting occurred in the afternoon at a store on the 1000 block of Grant Street near Military Road, identified in local reporting as Aref’s Deli. Buffalo police were called about 2:38 p.m.; Muthana was found wounded and died at the scene.

Authorities say Muthana’s death was the first known scene in a string of killings that continued into nearby Cheektowaga. Shortly after the Buffalo call, officers in Cheektowaga found three more victims dead at a home on Ellen Drive: 26-year-old Aaisha Abdulla and two young boys reported as 4-year-old Youssef Mohamed and 3-year-old Saif Mohamed. Prosecutors say the suspect’s wife and children were killed intentionally at the home.

Police and prosecutors identified 29-year-old Saleh Q. Mohamed of Cheektowaga as the man accused in the case; he was arrested after returning to the Cheektowaga scene and arraigned in Buffalo City Court on charges tied to Muthana’s death before facing additional counts. Prosecutors allege Mohamed intentionally caused Muthana’s death; no public motive or confirmed relationship between Muthana and Mohamed had been established. Hundreds attended Muthana’s funeral; community members described the loss as devastating.

Did anyone see Shukri at Aref’s Deli on June 1 or notice anything unusual in the area that afternoon?