On April 27, 2024, handymen Abu Yousuf, 39, and his colleague Babul Meah, 59, were shot while preparing a vacant house on Zenner Street in Buffalo for a new owner. The men arrived at about 12:30 p.m. and encountered a squatter who opened fire with an illegal rifle. Yousuf was found dead on the porch and Meah was shot in the street and later died at a hospital.

Police initially believed the shooter had barricaded himself inside the residence and spent hours surrounding the house, but surveillance later showed the suspect fled out the back before a perimeter was in place. On April 28 a man identified as 32-year-old Dale O. Cummings was found nearby; officers recovered a loaded rifle with a high-capacity magazine in a backpack. Forensic testing tied the weapon and DNA to Cummings, and he was tried and convicted of Murder in the First Degree and two counts of Criminal Possession of a Weapon.

Hundreds attended Yousuf’s funeral prayer at the Buffalo Muslim Center.