Uber driver, father of 8 identified as victim of fatal shooting in Northeast Portland

The man found shot to death in his car in Northeast Portland last week was a father of eight children who was driving for Uber when he was killed, a friend said.

Shaani Mohamed, 39, died at the scene about 9:30 p.m. March 27 near Northeast 82nd Avenue and Milton Street, a block where three other men have been killed in shooting homicides in the past eight months.

Police haven’t released Mohamed’s name but Musse Olol, a family friend and president of the Somali American Council of Oregon, confirmed his identity.

Investigators told the family that Mohamed was shot “multiple times,” but otherwise have said little to the family about the circumstances of Mohamed’s death, Olol said. The family has requested a meeting with detectives, he said.

That night, Mohamed’s 9-year-old son tried to FaceTime his father, as Mohamed often talked with his family while working, Olol said. But when a woman answered the phone, his son was shocked and threw the phone down. By the time Mohamed’s wife tried to call him again, his phone was turned off, Olol said.

The family did not learn what happened to Mohamed until 16 hours after he died, Olol said.

A GoFundMe created by Olol has raised more than $60,000 to support Mohamed’s family. His eight children range in age from a few months to 18 years old.

Uber has not responded to an Oregonian/OregonLive request for comment about Mohamed’s death.

Mohamed was an active member of the Somali community and loved playing soccer for Oregon’s first Somali football club team, Walalo, which formed in the early 2000s, Olol said. Mohamed immigrated to the United States two decades ago and lived in Southwest Portland as a teenager.

Mohamed was “well-liked” in the tight-knit Somali community in and around Portland, Olol said, where many attend the same mosques, shop at the same Halal food stores and pray together.

Shaani Mohamed, 39, was a Somali immigrant who enjoyed playing soccer and spending time with his eight children. On March 27, 2022, he became Portland’s 25th homicide victim.

Mohamed was known to be a family-oriented and hard-working man, his friend said.

“We’re just barely coming out of COVID-19 and two years of providing rental assistance and food support for many families in our community, we shouldn’t have to worry about gun violence in general, but now we have a man who left eight kids behind,” Olol said. “Now, we have to stabilize this family.”

The family held a traditional Muslim funeral and burial for Mohamed just a few days before the start of Ramadan, a holy month of fasting, prayer and community.

They will break their fasts every night this month without their father.

“It will be very hard,” Olol said. “That’s when they will really miss their dad.”

Meanwhile, Olol is hearing from other Somali Uber drivers who are scared in the wake of Mohamed’s death.

“It’s unacceptable,” he said. “We should feel safe and something should be done. The conditions on Milton Street should not exist.”

Portland police spokesperson Lt. Nathan Sheppard has said that in addition to the four homicides, about a half-dozen people recently have been shot in the immediate area but survived.

An Oregonian/OregonLive analysis of shooting data between January 2019 and March 2022 shows 29 different shootings in a four-block radius of the area, including 12 that injured someone.

Both the Police Bureau’s Focused Intervention Team and the Enhanced Community Safety Team are “aware of the unusual number of shootings and homicides in the area around (Northeast) 82nd and Milton and are already putting together a plan to address the high level of violence here,” Sheppard said in an email.