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An international manhunt ended this summer when FBI agents tracked down and arrested Salman S. Haji in Nairobi, Kenya and returned him to face charges in the deadly Tukwila Costco parking lot shooting. Authorities say Haji was deported to the United States on July 18, 2025 and taken into FBI custody, a result of painstaking coordination between U.S. and Kenyan law enforcement.
The savage January 26, 2024 attack left 67-year-old Mingyuan Huang, who went by Yuam Ming, dead after suspects allegedly tried to snatch a purse while the women were loading groceries into their car at the Tukwila Costco. Prosecutors say Haji and a co-defendant, Ilyiss Mohamud Abdi, are charged with first-degree murder, robbery, and related felonies, and federal authorities have also indicted Haji in an armed carjacking that occurred the same day.
Documents and reporting make clear this was not a random tragedy but part of a crime spree that day — police say the suspects staged a fender-bender to force a motorist to pull over, then carjacked her and used the stolen vehicle’s cards before the Costco slaying. That brazen pattern of violence should alarm every parent and law-abiding citizen who expects public spaces to be safe.
Investigators say Haji fled the country within days of the killing, moving first to Somalia and then to Kenya as authorities pursued leads that ultimately triggered an international “red notice” and the FBI’s Summer Heat initiative. The cross-border work to bring him home shows law enforcement can and will reach beyond our borders when it matters — but it also raises uncomfortable questions about how easily violent suspects can slip away in the first place.
Let’s be blunt: this case exposes policy failures. Whether it’s lax border security, porous travel oversight, or bureaucratic friction that slows deportation and extradition, hardworking Americans are left paying the price when criminals exploit the gaps. Law-and-order isn’t a slogan; it’s what keeps neighbors alive and families whole, and politicians who ignore that reality should answer to the public.
Credit where it’s due — the FBI, Tukwila police, and international partners did not give up, and their persistence delivered a measure of justice by returning the suspect to face the music. Still, a single arrest does not fix the larger problem of rising violent crime and the policy choices that allow dangerous people to roam and, in some cases, flee the country.
As the case moves through court, Americans should demand transparency and tough accountability: no leniency for those who prey on the elderly, and no tolerance for policies that let suspects vanish overseas. The victim’s family deserves answers and the certainty that our justice system will be firm, swift, and unforgiving toward violent criminals who target ordinary people doing ordinary things.
