Abdirahman Salad
Birth date:
January 1, 2005
Death date:
January 30, 2020
Age at Death:
15
About
Abdirahman Salad was 15 years old at the time of his death. On a GoFundMe page to support the family his elder sister, Fatuma, said that Mr. Salad w as a "great brother and our oldest brother out of our 11 siblings." Neither of Mr. Salad's parents speak English and his dad is blind, so this contributed to the feeling that the family had of being voiceless and hopeless in seeking answers. A teacher described him as nice and respectful. A classmate described Mr. Salad, a Columbus, OH resident, as a good kid hanging around not so good people. Mr. Salad attended Horizon Science Academy and was reportedly assigned to the National Youth Advocate Program, an emergency shelter in the area, as he was having some troubles with the law.
Police were responding to a 911 call made by a CVS employee; Mr. Salad was shot and killed by police as he was trying to rob a CVS in East Columbus. He was shot as he was found inside the CVS armed (other suspects were reportedly running out of the store when police arrived). Unclear if Mr. Salad was shot refusing to put down his weapon or as he tried to fire upon officers. The 911 caller stated there was a man holding a gun forcing an employee to open the safe.
Was justice served?
No. The system seems to have failed Mr. Salad. He had been in the custody of Child Protective Services prior to the robbery but his family requested he be released. Since no weapons were involved in the charges against Mr. Salad, he was released from CPS and there was an investigation as to why he was released when a "med screening" was pending. There seem to be no records of any police video or store video of what transpired, and very little about the police who responded.