Several bullets were found inside this home at 11 Kennedy Park, left, on Dec. 21 after a shooting. Ten bullet holes are in the center window, while another bullet hole is in the upper right window. Ben McCanna/Staff Photographer
Four people from Lewiston have been arrested in connection with a shooting that sent bullets into a child’s bedroom at Kennedy Park in Portland.
Police say the shooter used a rifle to fire multiple rounds into an apartment just above the staircase to the front door on Dec. 21. No one was injured, but police recovered bullets from several bedrooms, including one where a 1-year-old child sleeps in a crib.
Police announced Friday that four men were arrested this week: Noor Mohamed Aden, 22, and Jaheim Whiting, 21, were each charged with aggravated attempted murder and conspiracy to commit murder. Abukar Abdi, 22, and Jabrie Myers, 21, were each charged with conspiracy to commit murder. Bail was set at $100,000 each for Whiting, Abdi and Myers. The bail amount for Aden was not available Friday.
Speaking to reporters Friday, interim Portland Police Chief F. Heath Gorham praised investigators for their “dogged” work in the five months since the shooting.
“It’s one of those cases that could very easily have gone cold,” he said. “These detectives just didn’t let it go, and they continued following each clue, each lead that they had to bring it to where we are today.”
Gorham refused to answer several questions about the shooting and the investigation, which he said Lewiston police, Maine State Police and the FBI’s safe streets task force joined. He declined to say why police think the shooting occurred, why two of the men received lesser charges or how police eventually identified the suspects.
Aden, Abdi and Myers are all being held at Cumberland County Jail. Whiting is at the York County Jail. They have been ordered not to have contact with one another or the alleged victims.
According to court records, police found that 17 rounds from a semi-automatic rifle and one round from a 9mm handgun were fired into the home. Prosecutors moved Wednesday to seal additional court documents, including affidavits and police reports, that could provide further details about the shooting.
An officer on patrol in East Bayside just after 10 p.m. on Dec. 21 heard multiple gunshots from the Kennedy Park area. Multiple people also called 911 to report the shooting.
A person inside the apartment told police there was a knock at the door and when they looked out a window, they saw a Black man wearing a white T-shirt and black leather jacket standing out front. The man raised a rifle and fired multiple rounds at them through the window above the front door, police said.
Strips of what appear to be tape mark bullet holes in this window at 11 Kennedy Park after a shooting in December. In all, there are 10 bullet holes in this window and one in a nearby window. Ben McCanna/Staff Photographer
The day after the shooting, a woman who had been staying in the apartment told a reporter that she was visiting her parents and two younger sisters, who had moved into the apartment the week before.
The woman, who would not give her name because she feared for her family’s safety, said she and her 17-year-old sister were getting ready for bed, while her mother was with her 1-year-old sister on the couch in the living room. Her father was at work.
The woman said she heard a knock at the door and went to a window to see who it was. “As soon as I moved the blinds, I saw them … and he shot,” the woman said.
The woman said she was in shock and didn’t know the man who had appeared outside the window. “I’ve been visiting for two days,” she said. “My mom has lived here for a week. Nothing was set up. Everything is still in boxes. They were just at the wrong house, I think.”
A neighbor who heard the gunshots on the night of the shooting told the Press Herald on Friday that the family who had been staying at the apartment moved out immediately afterward.
The neighbor, who declined to give their name out of concerns for their safety, said they were glad police had arrested the suspects but frustrated at the continued lack of clarity around the case.
“We deserve answers,” the neighbor said. “Whoever did this should be brought to justice. They put the safety of the entire neighborhood at risk. There’s little kids here.”
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