An arrest has been made days after a local Muslim leader was shot at while driving in Sandy, police announced Saturday.
Abdul Raouf Afridi was taken into custody and faces multiple charges, including 12 counts of aggravated assault, one count of felony discharge of a firearm and one count of dangerous discharge of a weapon from a vehicle.
On Monday evening, Imam Shuaib was on his way to pray at the Utah Islamic Center when a vehicle pulled alongside and fired "several times" at Imam Shuaib's vehicle in the area of 700 West 9000 South.
Police spent days searching for the vehicle, which was described as a white Kia Optima, which was located and led to the arrest of Afridi, who police said was known to Imam Shuaib prior to the shooting.
No one, including Imam Shuaib, was injured in the shooting. Following the incident, security was increased at several Islamic locations across northern Utah.
The Optima's license was tracked to a Salt Lake City car dealership, where it was later located and towed to the Sandy Police Department. Inside the car, detectives found a handgun magazine loaded with several bullets and multiple shell casings that matched those found at the shooting scene.
Police contacted Afridi's wife, who claimed her husband "struggles with schizoaffective
disorder and is currently off his medications," the police report said, adding that his behavior had "been increasingly erratic." She also said Afridi had not been home since the day of the shooting and was unaware of where he was staying.
Through phone tracking, Afridi was geo-located in Nevada in the days after the shooting before returning to the Salt Lake City car dealership, and then the scene where the shooting occurred.
As the investigation continued, Afridi walked into the Sandy Police Department to ask about a warrant left for him at his dealership, and informed a records specialist that he was there to "turn himself in."
When approached by officers, Afridi was allegedly smoking marijuana and was not cooperating before he was questioned.
During a police interview, Afridi claimed to have been experiencing amnesia, but said he had been in Nevada, including Las Vegas, where he "gambled and smoked marijuana,: the police report stated.
Other statements made by Afridi allegedly contradicted tracking data. When detectives told him that the Optima had been involved in the shooting, Afridi said he was the only one with access to his dealership vehicles; "however, he stated he sometimes leaves the keys in the vehicles unlocked."
Afridi said he learned of the shooting through his wife, but declined to answer when asked if he knew anyone who had issues with Imam Shuaib.
The Sandy Police Department said the investigation into the incident remains active, and they are working with the Salt Lake County District Attorney’s Office to file formal charges against Afridi.
"We are grateful to all those in the public, media, other law enforcement agencies and those in the Sandy Police Department who worked tirelessly to see the case to this point," the department said in a statement.
