On the afternoon of March 30, 2021, Mohamed Jama Samatar, 36, was shot and killed inside Arcade Auto Body on Arcade Street in the Payne-Phalen neighborhood of Saint Paul. The Ramsey County Medical Examiner’s Office determined Samatar died at the scene from multiple gunshot wounds. Surveillance footage showed a man later identified as 31-year-old Mohamed Mohamud Farah enter from an alley, confront Samatar, and follow him into an office where Farah produced a handgun and shot Samatar six times at close range, including a fatal shot to the head.

Noise from shop equipment reportedly masked the gunshots so other workers did not immediately realize what had occurred. Investigators described the killing as targeted and retaliatory, alleging Farah believed Samatar was responsible for a 2008 killing of Farah’s younger brother, known as Shorty; Samatar had been a person of interest in that earlier case but was never charged. Farah was arrested and charged with intentional second-degree murder; he later pleaded guilty and received a 27-year sentence.

Does anyone have information about Samatar’s activities in the neighborhood or the auto shop that afternoon?