Seattle police have arrested a suspect in a recent gang-related shooting in the New Holly neighborhood.
The arrest is connected to a drive-by shooting two weeks ago that left 20-year old Zakariya Issa dead on the street.
The Somali man was reportedly walking home from a prayer service for another young Somali man killed just a day before. Issa was on his cellphone, taking to his mother when the shots hit.
Seattle Police arrested the suspected shooter Wednesday, just a half mile from where Issa died.
Issa's aunt, Ayan Musse of Des Moines, said “we cannot police our way out of this” and that the community needs to work together to end this violence.
She’s been deeply involved with the Seattle Youth Violence Prevention Initiative and said she’d like to see more success with that program.
“We need to be more vocal and honest” with what our youth are doing and the violence on our streets, she said. “These are our kids.”
The prayer service Issa attended was for a friend killed in a drive-by shooting in Federal Way. Police there have also arrested a suspect in that case.
The shootings have sparked fear and concern in the local Somali community. Seattle Police say they increased patrols around New Holly and that the shootings were gang-related but unconnected -- even though the young men knew each other.
