A Jackson County judge has sentenced Ahmed Aden, 40, to 40 years in prison for killing a 15-year-old Somali boy outside a Kansas City mosque in December 2014, announced Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker.

In December 2019, Aden pleaded guilty to Murder 2nd Degree and Armed Criminal Action.

Prosecutors initially charged Aden with Murder 1st Degree in the killing of Abdisamad Sheikh-Hussein, a sophomore at Staley High School. The victim was struck as he stood outside a vehicle near the mosque at Admiral Boulevard and Lydia in Kansas City. The victim had just finished leading prayer and was about to leave with friends.

Prosecutors requested a life sentence (30 years) plus 15 years, and the judge on Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2020, sentenced Aden to 30 years on the Murder 2nd Degree conviction and 10 years more on the Armed Criminal Action charge. He set the sentences to run consecutively.

Prosecutors argued that the crime was heinous and the defendant was outwardly anti-Muslim.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the sentencing hearing was held today in the Jackson County Courthouse with most observers participating virtually via WebEx.

Prosecutors Kate Nelson and Jeannette Wolpink prosecuted the case on behalf of the state of Missouri.