The 86-year-old father of six shot dead by a scooter-riding madman was laid to rest at a mosque in Brooklyn Monday — with Mayor Eric Adams calling him a “pillar of our city” and insisting that his administration is working to cut the violence that’s swamped the Big Apple since the pandemic.
The victim, Homod Ali Saeidi, has left behind a heartbroken family that’s calling for justice after he was allegedly murdered Saturday by Thomas Abreu, a 25-year-old restaurant delivery worker who police sources have described as “extremely emotionally disturbed.”
Outside his funeral at the Beit El-Maqdis Islamic Center in Bay Ridge, Adams insisted he and the NYPD have already been focused on three specific elements that contributed to Saeidi’s death: ghost guns, illegal scooters and mental illness.
“We have to get those things that harm innocent people off our streets,” the mayor said. “We’re steadfast. We’re not going to allow anyone to deter us from that. We’re focused on that.”
“This is a man who has been married over 60 years – he has six children,” Adams continued, noting that Saeidi, a former grocery store owner, is also related to an NYPD captain.
“This is the pillar of our city. And I’m going to remain committed to what I’m doing to make this one of the safest big cities in America — and I’m not going to allow anyone to stop us from that.”
Abreu is charged with one count of murder, two counts of attempted murder and six gun charges for allegedly shooting four people — including Saeidi — during a bloody rampage in Brooklyn and Queens on Saturday.
Police and sources said he used a ghost gun during his rampage, which lasted about 12 minutes before he was arrested in Queens.
Saeidi was the only fatality, although a 44-year-old man Abreu allegedly shot in the face was clinging to life Monday, police said.
The elderly man was walking down Jamaica Avenue- – on his way to pray at his local mosque — when Abreu allegedly rode up on a scooter, pulled a handgun and shot him in the back.
Saeidi’s oldest son, Ahmed Alsaedi, called for an end to gun violence at a press conference held just before his father’s funeral.
“We need justice for my father, and also for the other victims who got shot,” Alsaedi said, adding that his dad had 30 grandchildren and 31 great-grandchildren.
“This is a very bad time for us. The families are devastated.”
Abdul Mubarez, president of Yemeni American Merchant Association, echoed his demand.
“We call on everyone to stop and to take away the guns from our community,” Mubarez said. “From every community – I’m not saying one area. But every community.”