Police identify second suspect in Central District double killing, ask public to help find him

Ali Muhammed Brown



SEATTLE – Detectives have identified a second person suspected in the murder of two young men in the Central District on Sunday.

Police said they need help finding Ali Muhammed Brown who is described as a a 30-year-old black man, 5’9”, 190 pounds with brown eyes.  Brown is believed to be a transient who may have previously stayed around communities in South King County.

Police have already arrested 29-year-old Matalepuna Malu.  He has not yet been charged but is being held on a federal warrant and a new assault case in Seattle.

Ahmed Said, 27, and another man were gunned down early Sunday morning in the Central District’s Leschi neighborhood.

“We have two young men who have no criminal history. They appear to be very upstanding citizens and just victims of a very tragic incident,” Seattle Police Assistant Chief Carmen Best said.

One of the men was African American; the other was East African, Somali, and one of the two was gay leading investigators to look into the possibility that the killings may have been motivated by hate.

“I don’t want to guess what the motive is because we don’t know. Obviously they’re investigating all angles including the possibility that it was a hate crime,” Seattle Mayor Ed Murray said.
Another possibility is that this may have been a carjacking; police say they just don’t know. They are searching the car and are asking for the public help to identify any other suspects and get them off the street.



Interim Seattle Police Chief Harry Bailey credits neighbors, with helping his investigators make the arrest.

“When people come out and want to get involved it helps us make arrests much quicker,” Bailey said.

Tuesday, police located a car of one of the victims — a Mitsubishi Galant — in south Seattle, near the corner of Wabash Avenue and South Cloverdale Street.

They found evidence inside; they know it had been moved but they don’t know who moved it.