A man, aged 20, has been extradited from Kenya and is now in FBI custody, following allegations of his involvement in the fatal shooting of a woman in a Costco parking lot in Washington state last year, as per the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Salman Haji, who was 19 at the time of the incident in January 2024, was indicted last year on charges of murder and attempted robbery in connection with the death of Yuam Ming in Tukwila. Federal prosecutors confirmed Haji’s extradition and arrest from East Africa on Tuesday.
Ming, 67, was loading groceries into her car with her sister when Haji and another suspect, Ilyiss Abdi, 20, allegedly attacked them in an attempted purse robbery, according to Department of Justice (DOJ) officials. Surveillance footage, released by prosecutors and posted online by a local ABC affiliate, purportedly shows Haji and Abdi in a grocery store in Normandy Park approximately 40 minutes before they arrived at the Costco in Tukwila, where Ming and her sister were targeted.
The footage also allegedly shows the suspects attacking the sisters and shooting Ming as she attempted to assist her sister during a struggle over the purse. Prosecutors claim that Haji and Abdi arrived at the scene in a stolen Porsche Cayenne, which they had taken earlier that day from another local woman.
Based on the indictment and police reports, Haji is accused of stealing the vehicle at gunpoint from the victim while she was driving on Queen Anne Hill. The DOJ reports that Haji followed the woman and caused a collision to make her pull over. As the woman was retrieving insurance information from the glove box, Haji allegedly held her at gunpoint, demanding the keys to the vehicle and money before driving away in the stolen vehicle.
Prosecutors allege that Haji fled to Kenya after the Costco shooting. He was indicted in June 2024 and charged with murder and attempted robbery. “Mr. Haji was deported from Kenya and taken into custody by the FBI,” DOJ Public Affairs Officer Emily Langlie confirmed in a statement on Tuesday.
U.S. Attorney Tessa M. Gorman emphasized the need for accountability in a statement last year following Haji’s indictment. As of Tuesday morning, Haji’s exact location and incarceration status were not clear.