Muslim community mourns rideshare driver and ‘relentless volunteer’ who was gunned down in Edmonds
Jan 7, 2024, 10:15 AM
The Muslim community is mourning the loss of a rideshare driver, who was murdered in Edmonds this week.
KIRO 7 was told that the victim was 31-year-old Abdulkadir Shariff Gedi, who is Somalian.
Gedi was a dedicated member of the Abubakr Islamic Center in Tukwila.
Members of the mosque are heartbroken and in disbelief, that he was taken in such a violent way.
“It’s still a dream to me,” said Mohammed Jama, who is the Board Secretary of the Abubakr Islamic Center.
According to Edmonds Police, the suspect allegedly shot at Gedi along Edmonds Way late Wednesday night. Gedi was hit and later died at the hospital.
Jama told KIRO 7 that Gedi was a dear friend for many years. They’ve been attending prayer at the Islamic Center since the start.
“He was a relentless volunteer in our community. He was here every day… helping out doing chores, asking people if they need help,” Jama added. “He was somebody that was dear to me.”
Dedicated to helping anyone in need, Gedi has been a rideshare driver since 2015.
The Seattle Rideshare Drivers Association tells KIRO 7 that Gedi was on the job when he was shot.
“He had picked up a customer from the airport and dropped off at Edmonds and he was heading back to the airport,” said Ahmed Mumin, Executive Director.
As a rideshare driver himself, Ahmed Mumin believes it’s become a dangerous trend in their community.
“It’s very scary because given the hours that we are spending on the road, that it’s inevitable and that we’re going to be at risk at all times and we’re going to be seeing such tragedies,” Mumin explained.
On Friday, Gedi’s tragedy was mourned by the Muslim community. In tradition, he was laid to rest at the House of Mercy surrounded by dozens of community members.
The crowd came to show their support for a man who has given so much in return.
“They’re doing work and service to the community. If they’re getting killed, or nobody’s asking about why or who – and nobody’s bringing justice to whoever did this then it’s sad,” said Jama.
“They need to be brought to justice,” he continued.
If you’d like to help donate toward funeral expenses, click here for the GoFundMe.
Gedi’s death marks the third murder amongst rideshare drivers in less than 2 years.
A similar situation happened in August 2023, when an Uber Driver was killed in SoDo.
Another deadly shooting of a rideshare driver happened in September 2022 in Seattle near the Amazon Spheres.
The Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) of Washington has been advocating for increased protections for drivers.
“Whether it’s cameras, whether it’s some type of, you know, safety mechanisms that will help make their lives easier, and, you know, this, this individual went out to do his job, he didn’t expect, you know, to be violently attacked like this and ultimately lose his life,” said CAIR Executive Director Imraan Siddiqi.
