Prosecutors say the victims included the defendant’s wife, two young sons and a Buffalo store clerk.
BUFFALO, NY — A Cheektowaga man was charged Tuesday with killing four people, including his wife, two young children and a Buffalo store clerk, after two shooting scenes were found about an hour apart Monday afternoon, prosecutors said.
Saleh Q. Mohamed, 29, faces one count of first-degree murder and four counts of second-degree murder in cases now moving through courts in Cheektowaga and Buffalo. Erie County District Attorney Michael J. Keane said investigators are still working to determine what led to the shootings and whether Mohamed knew the clerk.
Authorities said the first known call came at about 2:30 p.m. Monday, when Buffalo police responded to a reported shooting at a store on the 1000 block of Grant Street near Military Road. Officers found a 43-year-old man with a gunshot wound. First responders tried to help him, but he died at the scene. Prosecutors said the victim was a store clerk. About an hour later, at 3:30 p.m., Cheektowaga police went to a home on Ellen Drive. Inside, officers found a 26-year-old woman, a 4-year-old boy and a 3-year-old boy dead. Keane said the woman and children were Mohamed’s wife and sons.
Court documents obtained by local news outlets identified the woman killed in Cheektowaga as Aaisha Abdulla. Officials had not publicly identified the two children or the clerk by name as of Wednesday, saying notification of family members was still part of the process. Prosecutors said all four victims were shot. Mohamed was arrested after he returned to the Ellen Drive home, authorities said. Keane said the cases are connected because prosecutors allege Mohamed committed both attacks. Buffalo Police Chief of Detectives Joseph Langdon said the scenes were difficult for investigators, especially because children were among the dead. “It affects the investigators,” Langdon said.
Mohamed was arraigned late Monday before Cheektowaga Town Court Justice John J. Wanat on one count of first-degree murder and three counts of second-degree murder in the deaths at the Ellen Drive home. He was held without bail. On Tuesday afternoon, he was arraigned before Buffalo City Court Judge Erin Hart on one count of second-degree murder in the Grant Street killing. The charges are Class A-I felonies under New York law. Prosecutors said Mohamed faces a maximum sentence of life in prison without parole if convicted of the highest count. They also said additional charges may be filed as the investigation continues.
The two scenes stretched across different parts of Erie County and drew responses from both the Buffalo Police Department and the Cheektowaga Police Department. The Grant Street shooting happened in Buffalo’s Black Rock area, near Military Road. The Ellen Drive home is in Cheektowaga, east of Buffalo. Police blocked part of the residential street while investigators worked inside the home Monday. Keane called the case “the worst of the worst” while speaking about domestic violence and the deaths of children. He said investigators still had unanswered questions, including what happened before the shootings and whether there was any known link between the clerk and Mohamed.
The case is being prosecuted by Chief Eugene T. Partridge III, Assistant District Attorney Justin H. Caldwell and Assistant District Attorney Frank A. Strano of the district attorney’s Homicide Bureau. Mohamed is scheduled to return to Cheektowaga Town Court for a felony hearing at 9:30 a.m. Friday, June 5. He also is scheduled to return to Buffalo City Court on Friday morning for a felony hearing in the clerk’s killing. Prosecutors said both investigations remain active. As in all criminal cases, Mohamed is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.
Mohamed remained held without bail Wednesday as investigators continued reviewing evidence from the Cheektowaga home and the Buffalo store. The next public step in the case is set for Friday morning, when felony hearings are scheduled in both courts.
Author note: Last updated June 3, 2026.