Muslim Cabbie Mows Down Students after Argument about Religion

Ibrahim Ahmen, 37, is a driver who works for United Cab in Nashville, Tennessee. Early Sunday morning, Ahmen picked up two college students near Vanderbilt University’s campus. The two men, Jeremy Invus and Andrew Nelson, are college students from Ohio who were visiting Nashville, and they were heading back to the Vanderbilt campus where they were staying with friends.

According to Capt. Mike Alexander of the Nashville Police Department, the incident report indicates that a conversation about religion began between the two students and Ahmed. A friend and fellow co-worker of Ahmed told a FOX reporter in Nashville that Ahmed is a Sunni Muslim who is originally from Somalia.

At some point, the incident report says, the two students got out of the cab, and the cab driver got out also. The students paid their fare, and then the conversation became heated and all parties exchanged words. Ahmed got into his cab and the students started running away.

As the students fled on foot, Ahmed allegedly followed them across a parking lot, jumped over a curb, and struck the two men with his vehicle. One of the students, Andrew Nelson, was able to avoid being hit by the cab. The other, Jeremy Invus, was struck and was taken to Vanderbilt University Medical Center. He is in critical condition, but according to a hospital spokeswoman, he is recovering and does not want to discuss the incident with the media.

Ahmed has been charged with attempted homicide and assault, and is being held in jail on a $300,000 bond. His charges also include theft, because according to police the license plate on his cab showed up as being stolen. United Cab manager Cherrie Machado told reporters that the company is working with police to find out what happened. "I don’t believe he will be working here anymore," she said. "But that is up to the licensing cab board—whether they will pull his permit—and the owners of the company."

Machado added that Ahmed also teaches English as a second language in an office next door to the cab company. She said that she will not feel comfortable if Ahmed is allowed to return to work as a cab driver.