Suspect in deadly Costco parking lot shooting extradited from Kenya to Seattle

A man accused of fleeing to Africa after a deadly shooting in a Washington Costco parking lot last year has been returned to the Evergreen State to face murder charges.

The US Attorney’s Office in Seattle confirmed to KOMO News that 20-year-old Salman S. Haji was apprehended by the FBI in Kenya and has now been extradited back to the US. He is currently being held in King County Jail on $5 million bail.

Haji and co-defendant Ilyiss Abdi, who is also 20, have been charged with murder, attempted robbery, and robbery for the fatal shooting of 67-year-old Yuam Ming on January 26, 2024. According to prosecutors, Ming was killed during a purse-snatching attempt in the Tukwila Costco parking lot as she and her sister loaded groceries into their car. Ming’s sister was the primary target of the robbery, and surveillance video reportedly shows Haji fatally shooting Ming as she tried to help her sister.

Authorities say Abdi was the getaway driver, operating a Porsche SUV that had been carjacked earlier that morning in Seattle’s Queen Anne neighborhood. The carjacking occurred after a Honda sedan rear-ended a woman, after which a man exited the Honda, pointed a gun at the victim, and demanded her car keys. Both vehicles fled the scene.

A Seattle police officer spotted the stolen Porsche and attempted a traffic stop on I-5 in south Seattle, but the SUV evaded capture.

Roughly an hour later, the suspects were seen on video at a QFC in Normandy Park, where they allegedly used the carjacking victim’s credit card to purchase gift cards. Surveillance shows them entering the store at 10:10 am and leaving at 10:17 am.

At 10:38 am, the stolen Porsche entered the Costco parking lot in Tukwila. According to police, the surveillance footage shows Haji and Abdi spotting Ming and her sister, and after circling back, Haji jumped out of the car and grabbed the sister’s purse. As Ming tried to help from the passenger seat, Haji shot her in the chest before fleeing in the Porsche.

A police officer already parked at the store was alerted by witnesses and responded immediately, but despite efforts by first responders, Ming died at the scene.

Later that day, the Porsche SUV was discovered abandoned in a church parking lot in Des Moines. Investigators recovered the car’s license plates from the trunk. Fingerprint analysis matched Abdi’s prints to one of the plates and Haji’s to the vehicle’s passenger-side door handle.

Haji fled the US just five days after the shooting, reportedly after being identified in a social media post. He boarded a flight from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport and eventually made his way to Kenya, where he was later arrested and extradited. Haji is also facing a federal carjacking charge, according to the US Attorney’s Office.

Meanwhile, Abdi was arrested on May 16 in connection with a separate shooting in Kent. He is being held on $6 million bail related to both the Ming case and the Kent incident. Abdi has pleaded not guilty and is expected back in court in August.