Police say three musicians — two from an Iranian-American indie rock group, were shot and killed early Monday, and a fourth person was wounded in the East Williamsburg area of Brooklyn, New York. The alleged assailant, who took his own life, was also a musician, authorities said.
According to The Associated Press:
"Two of the dead were brothers and members of the group the Yellow Dogs, who came to the U.S. from Iran three years ago after appearing in a film about the underground music scene there, according to band manager Ali Salehezadeh. Another person killed was also a musician but wasn't in the band, and the wounded person was an artist, he said.
The shootings reportedly took place at an apartment shared by some of the band members."
The New York Daily News quotes sources as saying the suspected shooter "was found dead on the roof [of the apartment] from a single blast from a .308-caliber rifle, apparently fired from the bottom of his chin."
It said the alleged gunman, who has not been identified, "was kicked out of the band recently."
The Daily News said: "On the second floor, Soroush Farazmand, 27, was found lying face up, dead from a gunshot wound to the chest.
Two others, Arash Farazmand and Ali Eskandarian were found dead on the third floor, both from gunblasts to the head."
And The New York Times says:
"Yellow Dogs ... got its start in Tehran, rehearsing in a makeshift soundproof studio and organizing clandestine concerts to avoid punishment by Iranian authorities. ...
The assailant, who was not immediately identified, was believed to be another Iranian-American musician, possibly playing with the Yellow Dogs or another group called the Free Keys, said Raymond W. Kelly, the police commissioner. Mr. Kelly added that the motive had something to do with 'a dispute over money involving an indie rock band.'"
The Times says the band had performed at prominent venues such as Webster Hall and the South by Southwest music festival in Austin, Tex.
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