A Man Shot and Killed Three Of His Former Bandmates In Bushwick Last Night [Updated]
Some truly horrific news out of Bushwick: a man shot and killed three men who seem to have been his former bandmates in their home at 318 Maujer St. at midnight last night with a “military-style rifle,” before turning the gun on himself.
Police haven’t released many details yet, but the Post reports that the shooter was “a musician furious over being thrown out of a rock band,” and an NYPD spokesperson confirmed there “may be a musical element.” Law enforcement sources also told the Post that the band “is made up of Iranians who have been in the country for a while and were seeking asylum here,” and one neighbor said the building often hosted raucous parties, saying, “It was the usual hipster rave scene.” Even without much information, this is as tragic as it is nightmarish. Daily Intel is also reporting that the band, Yellow Dogs, had a song called “This City” which was dedicated to Brooklyn.
[Update]: Along with a lot of other gigs around the borough, Yellow Dogs played Summerscreen for us in 2011, and you can find a more in-depth post about them over at The L. They were also featured in a 2009 documentary about the underground rock scene in their native Iran, No One Knows About Persian Cats, the trailer for which is embedded below. Our thoughts are with their family, friends, and fans.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5gLq3E4pRuU#!
[Update, 1:40pm]: Pitchfork has a statement from Yellow Dogs’ publicist clarifying that contrary to initial reports, the shooter was not a former member of the band, but an acquaintance with whom they’d had a falling out:
The shooter was not a former member of the band The Yellow Dogs, he was in another band from Iran and the two groups were acquaintances in the past. A personal conflict between the guys resulted in the dissolution of their relationship in 2012. The shooting resulted in the death of two of the members of the Yellow Dogs, Sourosh Farazmand (guitarist) and Arash Farazmand (drummer), along with a friend of theirs, fellow musician and author Ali Eskandarian. The shooter died from a self inflicted bullet wound on site.
Follow Virginia K. Smith on Twitter @vksmith.