Brooklyn Indie Band Yellow Dogs Killed In Murder-Suicide
UPDATE: AP reports that two of the victims were Yellow Dogs members and that the gunman was a former member of a separate band, the Free Keys.
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An unthinkable tragedy last night in Brooklyn: A former member of Yellow Dogs, an Iranian indie rock band who had relocated to Brooklyn, shot and killed three of his former bandmates in East Williamsburg, then killed himself.
The New York Daily News reports that the unnamed gunman, recently booted from the band (reportedly for selling equipment), entered the apartment building and murdered band members Soroush Farazmand, Arash Farazmand, and Ali Eskandarian. An unnamed 22-year-old was also shot in the arm and elbow, and he’s in stable condition at an area hospital. The shooter also fired at but missed two others, who were hiding in a bathroom. He then shot himself on the building’s rooftop.
The band started in 2006 in Tehran, where they had to soundproof their practice space and play covert shows, to avoid attention from the repressive Iranian authorities. They relocated to Brooklyn in 2010 and played frequently around town. Last year, they released their Upper Class Complexity EP through the eMusic Selects program. Our eMusic colleague J. Edward Keyes has written a moving tribute. What a sad, messed-up ending.