Brother of man shot by police steps back from initial comments
Ibrihim Rahim, right, Rahimah Rahim, center, the brother and mother of Usaamah Rahim, listen as Attorney Ronald S. Sullivan speaks to members of the media during a news conference Thursday. Keith Bedford/Globe Staff
The brother of a man shot and killed by police in a Roslindale parking lot on Tuesday has stepped back from initial claims he made on Facebook that officers shot his brother in the back while he was talking on the phone with their father.
On Thursday, Ibrahim Rahim, a well-respected imam in Boston, stood with his mother, his two surviving brothers, his brother’s widow, and the family’s attorney, Ronald Sullivan, in front of a throng of media in the same parking lot where Usaamah Rahim, 26, was shot and killed by police on Tuesday.
Ibrahim Rahim didn’t speak, but Sullivan told reporters that he regrets his comments and that there’s still a lot left to learn about what happened. He heard what he believed to be his brother’s last moments from a third party, and in his grief, posted it to social media.
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“The family wants to be very careful to not engage in rank speculation,’’ said Sullivan, a Harvard Law School professor. “What the family wants is to enter into a joint relationship with the investigators to get to the truth.’’
FBI agents and Boston police say Usaamah Rahim was plotting to behead an unidentified person and “go after … those boys in blue’’ – police officers. FBI agents and officers who had been tracking him around the clock confronted him in the parking lot, where they say he wielded a knife. He was shot and killed by officers.
Rahim’s nephew, David Wright, is being held on a charge of conspiracy after he was arrested at his home in Everett. Federal prosecutors say the 24-year-old plotted with Rahim and told him to destroy his phone before launching any of his violent plans.
The family hasn’t yet seen the video of Rahim’s death, which was shown to community leaders Wednesday. Sullivan said the family was headed to the district attorney’s office today to view it.
The accusations against Rahim are a shock to his family, Sullivan said. They’ve read the reports that Rahim was radicalized by ISIS and can’t believe it was their son and brother.
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“They had not perceived any conduct or change in demeanor with Usaamah consistent with those reports,’’ he said.
A woman who spoke before Rahim’s immediate family arrived, who only identified herself as an aunt, Karen, said the reason her nephew was being called a terrorist was due to his religion.
“If it wasn’t for him being Muslim, we would not be hearing ‘terrorism,’’’ she said. “We would not be hearing ‘ISIS.’’’
The immediate family, however, only wants to discuss how Rahim died and why.
“They want the conversation at this point to turn on the fact that a very young man is dead, and whether that shooting was justified,’’ Sullivan said.
“We’d simply ask that you respect this born and bred American family,’’ Sullivan said. “They have lost someone and whatever you think he may or may not have done, they lost a loved one. They are grieving … There is not a whiff of suspicion that they have engaged in any wrongdoing.’’
Usaamah Rahim’s wife, who was not identified, wore a full burka covering her face. After 20 minutes of questions, she shuffled away from the crush of media, her sneakers peeking out underneath her skirt.
Tomorrow, she buries her husband.
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Photos: Police-involved shooting in Roslindale
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