DETROIT — A Detroit Muslim leader was unarmed when authorities fatally shot him during a raid inside a suburban warehouse in 2009, the family of the man said in a lawsuit, a claim that’s totally contrary to what the FBI concluded, the Detroit Free Press reports.
The suit filed in U.S. District Court in Detroit alleges an unarmed Imam Luqman Abdullah was shot 30 times as he tried to protect himself from a police dog, according to the Free Press.
The claims stem from the affidavit of Muhammad Abdul Salaam, a Detroit man who witnessed the raid and shooting.
“As Abdullah struggled to prevent the canine from attacking his face, and while Abdullah was on his back, the FBI agents began shooting at him,” Salaam said in his affidavit, the Free Press wrote. “Abdullah never pulled any weapon towards the canine or towards any of the FBI agents. At no time during that day did I see Abdullah carry a gun.”
In separate investigations, local, state and federal authorities concluded the federal agents broke no laws when they opened fire on Abdullah. They concluded that he opened fire on the dog as agents approached.
