Estimated read time: 3-4 minutes
- Salman Farhan Ahmed, 22, faces new charges, including aggravated murder, in Utah.
- Ahmed allegedly shot 18-year-old M.S. during an altercation in Salt Lake City.
- Previously involved in a 2022 gang-related shooting, Ahmed accepted a plea deal.
SOUTH SALT LAKE — A 22-year-old gang member arrested in connection with two murder investigations in three years is facing new charges.
Salman Farhan Ahmed, of Salt Lake City, was charged Monday in 3rd District Court with aggravated murder, a first-degree felony; being a restricted person in possession of a gun, theft and obstruction of justice, second-degree felonies; and two counts of assault, a class B misdemeanor.
An 18-year-old man, only identified in court documents by his initials, M.S., was shot in the back and killed on April 27 about 11:40 p.m. in a parking lot near 2531 S. 400 East.
According to charging documents, Ahmed and a woman had gotten into an argument, which continued after Ahmed, the woman, M.S. and two others got into Ahmed's car and began driving.
"As he drove, Ahmed continued to yell at (the woman), calling her a liar and stating, 'I'm going to beat (you)' and 'I'm going to kill you,'" the charges state.
When he pulled into a parking lot, Ahmed continued to yell at the woman, and M.S. told Ahmed to calm down, according to the charges. Ahmed then punched two women in the car "before M.S. grabbed Ahmed and told him to 'stop' and leave (the first woman) alone," the charges state.
At that point, however, the woman later told police that Ahmed "pulled the gun out, pointed it at her inches from her head and told her, 'I'm gonna kill you,'" according to charging documents.
After the woman got out of the car, M.S. tried to help and got into a fight with Ahmed. While M.S. stood between the woman and Ahmed with his back to Ahmed, he was shot, the charges state. Ahmed then drove away as the others in the car attempted to help M.S.
Later, Ahmed allegedly texted one of the women and sent messages such as, "Bro that's my brother," "I didn't mean to do that," "I shot in the air," "That's my brother," "I love him" and "Is my brother okay?," according to charging documents.
After he was arrested, "Ahmed admitted to destroying his cellphone following the shooting by throwing it in a body of water," the charges state.
In 2022, prosecutors say Ahmed was part of a confrontation between two rival gangs in the parking lot of a 7-Eleven, 4051 S. State, during which Talib "Kunda" Ahmed, 18, was shot four times and killed.
Salman Ahmed was initially charged with murder. The case was scheduled to go to trial several times before Ahmed accepted a plea deal in 2024 and pleaded guilty to lesser charges of illegal discharge of a firearm and being a restricted person in possession of a weapon, second-degree felonies.
Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill told KSL.com that the problem with the 2022 case for prosecutors was that, despite multiple people being at the shooting, all of the witnesses claimed to have no memory or limited memory of the event, and some simply refused to cooperate at all. Because of that and other evidence issues, the plea deal was offered.
In a more recent case, Ahmed was sentenced in December to two months in jail and placed on three years of probation after being convicted of drug distribution. Ahmed tried to sell drugs to an undercover officer in Davis County in July of 2023 and then sped away at 100 mph before being arrested at a rest stop, according to court records in that case.
