Police in Fort Wayne, Ind. are investigating the “execution-style” murders of three young men in an abandoned house in East St. Louis last week, according to The Washington Post.
According to the autopsy report, all three men—23-year-old Mohamedtaha Omar, 20-year-old Adam Mekki, and 17-year-old Muhannad Tairab—died from multiple gunshot wounds. Though each victim is of East African descent, Fort Wayne PD Safety Director Rusty York claims that there is still no reason to believe that the triple-homicide was a hate crime. Many believed that all three boys were Muslim, but according to The Washington Post, Omar and Tairab were Muslim while Mekki was Christian.
“Hopefully, you know, we’ll be able to focus in on exacly what the reason was but, as I said before, no reason to believe this was any type of hate crime, or focused because of their religion or their nationality whatsoever,” he told WATP-TV.Â
The victims’ bodies were discovered in the home on Wednesday by a group of people who had left the home and returned within the same hour, WATP-TV reported. Police said that the home is owned by people living in Indianapolis, and in their absence the house became a gathering place for young people.
“A lot of people would come and go to the residence,” Police Chief Gary Hamilton told WANE TV. “We talked to neighbors, and a lot of young people would come and go to this house.”
Detectives investigating the case do not have any suspects, but Chief Hamilton advised anyone who had information regarding the murders to come forward during his visit to Omar and Tairab’s funeral this past Saturday.Â
“I need someone to come and tell me what they know,” he said. “Please, I’m asking for your help and your mercy for these young men.”