Necropsy Shows FBI Dog Killed in Dearborn Incident Was Shot Twice

By Sean Delaney, Press & Guide Newspapers

DEARBORN — A recently released veterinary report has apparently raised more questions than it answers about the shooting death of Imam Luqman Ameen Abdullah last fall at a Dearborn warehouse – at least in the eyes of groups questioning the incident.

FBI agents have said they were justified in shooting Abdullah because he had opened fire on the agents during a raid on a stolen-goods operation. An FBI dog, Freddy, was killed during the incident.

The report, known as a necropsy, details the medical treatment provided for the animal at Veterinary Emergency Service of Madison Heights, which compiled the three-page document after examining the dog Oct. 28.

It also shows that Freddy, a German shepherd, was shot in the neck twice. Two bullets and some bullet fragments were removed from the animal, according to the report. It does not state the caliber of the bullet fragments or the bullets.

“The necropsy report raises more questions than answers,” said Dawud Walid, executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations – Michigan (CAIR-MI). “It doesn’t tell us what bullet calibers were found. So we don’t know if friendly fire was involved or not.”

The FBI has said Abdullah shot Freddy first, after which agents returned fire. But Abdullah’s family members and supporters say it’s unclear who shot the dog, raising the question of whether the animal could have been shot by friendly fire.

An autopsy released Feb. 1 found Abdullah was shot 21 times — twice in the chest, four times in the abdomen, twice in the groin, four times in the left hip and side, seven times in the left thigh, once in the scrotum and once in the back.

The autopsy didn’t detail the types or sizes of bullets removed from Abdullah’s body. The report documents the recovery of another bullet fragment and numerous small metallic fragments recovered from the pelvis. There were no gunpowder burns on the body, indicating the fatal shots weren’t fired from point blank range.

Although Abdullah was not shot in the head, he suffered cuts and abrasions on his face. Several lacerations were also found on his hands, although Wayne County Medical Examiner Carl Schmidt said he could not confirm whether the FBI dog he allegedly killed caused the wounds.

CAIR has called on President Barack Obama to initiate an investigation into the incident and sent a letter to the president earlier this month asking him to start a civil rights probe.

“Due to conflicting accounts of the incident and numerous Freedom of Information Act requests filed to law enforcement agencies relating to the shooting which have been denied, numerous parties … have called for the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice to open a thorough and robust civil rights investigation into the circumstances of Abdullah’s death,” the letter to Obama stated.

An internal FBI investigation of the shooting has been completed and is under review by the civil rights division of the U.S. Justice Department.

Special Prosecutor Doug Baker is also investigating the case. He will determine whether any laws were broken in the fatal shooting after receiving a report about the incident from the Dearborn Police Department earlier this month.

“The Dearborn Police Department will continue to work closely with the attorney general’s office on this matter,” Chief Ronald Haddad said when that report was issued.

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