Man charged in connection with fatal shooting of father of 7 driving cab in Detroit

35-year-old man taken into custody, police say

Mohammad Zainul (WDIV)

DETROIT – A Detroit man has been charged in connection with the fatal shooting of a father of seven who was driving a cab on the city's west side.

Curtis Johnson, 35, is accused of shooting Mohammad Zainul, 54, of Hamtramck, multiple times in the back of the head.

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Police were called at 1:38 a.m. Saturday to the 600 block of Collingwood Street, where officers found Zainul, 54, inside a Dodge Caravan cab.

Zainul was unresponsive, and police discovered he had been fatally shot in the body. Medical officials arrived and pronounced him dead at the scene.

Investigators identified Johnson as a suspect and took him into custody Wednesday morning in the 10600 block of Lakepointe Street.

Johnson is charged with first-degree murder, felony murder, armed robbery, felon in possession of a firearm and four felony firearms violations.

He is scheduled to be arraigned Friday in 36th District Court.

Community mourns cab driver

Family, friends and neighbors said Zainul was a huge part of the community.

"Good father, good friend," said Abdul Latif Azom, with the Islamic Center of North Detroit. "It was a shock. I got the call from the local police. There’s a large family he left behind, seven children and all are minors."

"My heart was just going out to the family after that," said Denise Clominger, who lives next door. "I just wanted to console all of them. He was doing what he needed to do to make as much money as he could to keep this house going for his seven children and his wife."

"We lost one of the great men in the community and a good father, that’s taking care of his family," Azom said.


About the Author:

Derick is the Lead Digital Editor for ClickOnDetroit and has been with Local 4 News since April 2013. Derick specializes in breaking news, crime and local sports.