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Updated 12 hours ago
The cab driver who was beaten and robbed earlier this week in Beltzhoover has died.
Ramadhan Mohamed, of Pittsburgh's North Side, was identified as the driver of the Z-Trip cab, according to a release late Friday from Allegheny County. He died Friday shortly before 6 p.m. in UPMC Presbyterian hospital in Pittsburgh.
Pittsburgh police on Friday arrested two 20-year-old men in connection with Tuesday's beating and robbery of the Somali taxi driver.
Despite fears expressed by the local Somali Bantu community that the attack was a hate crime, police maintained they have no evidence that the incident was “motivated by the driver's nationality.”
King Edwards and Hosea Moore, both from Beltzhoover, requested the Z-Trip private sedan ride “with the intent of robbing the driver,” Public Safety spokeswoman Sonya Toler said. They face charges of attempted homicide, robbery and conspiracy.
The charges have not been updated or amended yet.
Neither is charged with Pennsylvania's version of a hate crime, called ethnic intimidation.
But the Islamic Center of Pittsburgh released a statement late Friday by Mohamed's family: “We urge the police to keep the pressure on until all of the facts are in. We need to know what really happened that night that left our brother beaten to death. We must not rule out the possibility of a hate crime until a full investigation is completed.”
The Islamic Center statement expressed mourning over Mohamed's death.
“He was just 31 years old and leaves behind his wife, Khadija Mohamed, with a baby on the way, and a 2-year-old son. Ramadhan was kind and easygoing. Dedicated to his faith and to service, he volunteered every weekend teaching youth.”
Mohamed was found about 5 a.m. Tuesday face-down and unresponsive on Climax Street, according to Pittsburgh police Assistant Chief Lavonnie Bickerstaff. Police found his vehicle the next day a few blocks away.
The official cause and manner of his death are pending, according to the county's statement.
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