Naeem Sarosh Milwaukee community service officer shot dead over lawn mower joke by 65 year old neighbor. Ongoing issues.
A Wisconsin 65 year old man is accused of fatally shooting his neighbor, a community service officer for the Milwaukee Police Department during a dispute Monday over grass clippings.
In a release Milwaukee Police said that Mohammed Afzal was taken into custody shortly after Naeem Sarosh’s shooting death.
The complaint stated the shooting had ‘occurred after the defendant or someone from the defendant’s household mowed the defendant’s lawn and left grass clippings on the victim’s adjoining property. The victim knocked on the defendant’s side door to complain about the grass clippings. The defendant came to the side door, and the two men had a discussion about the grass clippings. During the discussion, the defendant fired a gun at the victim.’
He came to the door already carrying his pistol
In an interview with police, Afzal ‘admitted shooting the victim” — and said “he came to the door already carrying his pistol.’ Afzal told police ‘because the victim had his hands in his pockets, he thought the victim had a gun, so he shot him. He said that after shooting the victim, he went inside, put his gun away, and changed clothes because he knew the police would be coming for him.’
A neighbor told WMTJ that they overheard men arguing before one of them screamed, ‘I told you not to touch that.’ A family friend claimed Sarosh, 35, was joking with his neighbor, who was mowing his lawn, about throwing grass clippings onto his property when the neighbor brandished a gun and opened fire.
‘beloved, well respected, and well liked,’
The neighbor allegedly shot Sarosh four times as Sarosh grabbed his wife and attempted to flee.
Sarosh had been a community service officer with Milwaukee police for four years. Community service officers are unarmed and respond to non-emergency calls.
Sarosh ‘was beloved, well respected, and well liked,’ Acting Chief Michael Brunson said. ‘This is a tragic day for the Milwaukee Police Department and for this city.’
Police reportedly said Sarosh was off-duty at the time of Monday’s incident.
The family friend said they were unaware of any conflict between Sarosh and the neighbor. However, another neighbor told the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel that Sarosh and the 65-year-old had ongoing issues.
Sarosh reportedly lived in the neighborhood for about four or five years. The suspect lived in the area for decades but mostly kept to himself, the neighbor said.
Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett said in a statement Tuesday that he is grateful for Sarosh’s service to the community.
‘While the circumstances of the situation haven’t been fully determined, these types of senseless acts of violence should disturb us all,’ he said.
The shooting is under investigation as a suspect homicide. Officials have not yet named the suspect.
