TUKWILA, WA – The fatal shooting of a 67-year-old woman outside a Tukwila Costco store has led to the charging of two young men, Illyiss Mohamud Abdi, 18, and Salman S. Haji, 19, with first-degree murder and various other serious offenses.
Mingyuan Huang and her sister are said to have been targeted by the two suspects while they were loading groceries into their vehicle on January 26. Court documents reveal a struggle for the woman’s purse ensued, resulting in Haji assaulting and shooting Mingyuan Huang when she attempted to intervene.
In addition, it appears that Abdi may have ties to another fatal shooting that occurred in February involving a teenager in Kent. He has since been apprehended in May and faces assault charges related to this previous case.
However, Haji, the second suspect implicated in Huang’s murder, managed to flee the country towards the end of January and remains at large. The news of the incident sparked safety concerns among Costco shoppers, many of whom expressed shock at the audacity of the crime due to its occurrence in a busy parking lot.
Investigators reveal that prior to this tragic event, the pair had allegedly stolen a white Porsche SUV from a woman in Seattle at gunpoint. Following Huang’s murder, the two suspects proceeded to make their getaway in the same stolen vehicle.
Both Abdi and Haji have DNA evidence implicating them, as their fingerprints were discovered within the Porsche. In addition to the murder charges, both men are also facing charges of first-degree robbery and attempted robbery. They have also been charged with unlawful possession of a firearm and attempting to evade law enforcement.
The court has set a bail of $5 million for each suspect. Their arraignment is scheduled for June 5 at the Kent Regional Justice Center.