A masked gunman stepped from a black BMW on Gloria Terrace and Taylor Boulevard in unincorporated Lafayette and fired a shot into a dark grey or black Mercedes at approximately 1:05 p.m. Wednesday – killing the occupant before fleeing the area.
Police identified the victim as 20-year-old Basel Jilani of Lafayette.
Investigators spent much of Wednesday and Thursday combing through a multi-million dollar contemporary home Jilani appeared to have been renting on Arbor View Lane – a gated serpentine lane of expensive homes seconds away from where he was shot and killed. Bags of evidence could be seen being removed from the residence.
His shooting was initially believed to have been the result of a road rage incident, with witnesses describing the gunman getting into a dark or black BMW with other people aboard and speeding off. This account could not be immediately confirmed.
What is known is that a frantic effort to save Jilani was undertaken after passersby realized he was in distress, many who came upon the scene unaware he had been shot.
Several witnesses, who declined to be identified, said they tried to reach 911 operators in hope of getting emergency assistance and/or instruction in emergency life-saving measures. One man reportedly called his physician for instructions as passersby dragged the unconscious man out of his Mercedes and lay him down on the street in order to begin compressions.
Several said the emergency lines were quickly overwhelmed by calls.
Sheriff’s deputies arrived to find the citizen’s at work on Jilani’s unresponsive form. He was ultimately declared deceased at the scene.
Police, alerted by witnesses, began an immediate search for the suspect vehicle -reportedly last seen fleeing west on Taylor Boulevard – but were unable to locate it.
The area was closed to traffic for several hours while officers and detectives processed the crime scene.
Little is known about the 20-year-old, who one neighbor described as “pleasant” and “polite,” and Contra Costa County Sheriff’s investigators said nothing about Lafayette’s most talked-about case beyond identifying the victim.
Just another sign of the times, you release enough felons, give them encouragement from social justice movements and have liberal officials promise light or no sentences and this is what you get. I have wealthy cousins fleeing Danville/Walnut Creek in June for the safety of McKinney, Texas.
Hey, why didn’t you use my photo?
108RS
Hey, Jeff… we ignored your first graf in order to answer your tacked on question (see who loves you?)
Answer to that one is we DID use your photo and we thank you for sending it along. We got a bunch, as we usually do, and we habitually “upgrade” our pictures as new ones/better ones come in. Our “Front Page” is constantly changing as a result… at least as new info/photos come in.
Jeff, at this point it is not possible for you to have any idea as to who is behind this horrible event and what their backstory might be. To use this senseless murder to promote your agenda is disgusting.
Ya but he’s not wrong. Just because it hurts your feelings doesn’t mean he’s not right. For a person to take a gun and shoot somebody else over road rage is ridiculous and that human should be put the death for taking another life and if you don’t think they should there’s something wrong with you.
Please don’t turn this into another claycord. Most would appreciate that.
We’ve managed to stay true to ourselves for many years, Bill, and have no intention of changing…
Yes, I meant those responding. Not News24-680.
Ah, got it!
Bill, agree with you 100%…
Another sign of the times. You underfund enough programs, reduce teachers pay, encourage greed and corporate corruption, and grow the wealth gap and crime rates go up. Give them encouragement from right wing nut jobs to go and shoot nonwhites and cry about “reverse racism” and this is what you get. I have wealthy friends fleeing Texas because they don’t like authoritarian fascist incels who run away when storms come and get their fragile egos offended when none of their rights are threatened by the existing of scary gay people!
Why didn’t you use my picture?
See? So many opinions out there…
Yup, I guess someone will blame it on global warming or maybe still blame covid. Others could say that the country has devolved to such a mess in the last year that people are just miserable and stressed.
Programs are well funded, school breakfasts and lunches and some dinners. More dollars go to challenged schools per student. Here’s a success that progressives don’t want to hear about……………The Jerry Brown Oakland Military Institute………..very high success rate.
108RS
“Very high success rate” …at breakfast, lunch, dinner? shooting practice? getting funding? You failed to specify what they succeed at. What are your metrics? Is feeding some hungry students in the richest country in the history of earth your definition of success? That perspective would seem to come from someone who has not missed a meal in recent years.
Safety ! TEXAS. Hahahahaha
Probably the most gun nut state in the country
Yes head for there!!!!
Very sad and not far from home, thanks for staying on top of this, I hope they catch the perp(s)…masked? – very strange, might be more to this than road rage, we’ll see…
A person is murdered and people are worried about their photo being used? What have we come to?
Just giving 24/680 a hard time, I really don’t care. I went beyond the police line, thought I’d chat with a friend I saw there.
108RS
That’s what we need – more people giving us a hard time!
You guys do great. With a situation like this, nobody will have the real story until it is released. I appreciate the efforts.
Appreciate your taking a moment to write…
Saw the road closure as it happened today at Taylor and Grayson. I checked my phone while stuck at the light and sure enough I had missed the news 24 / 680 flash. I was expecting a car accident or a brush fire as there was a couple recently along the local roadways I read about. Jeez. Did anything happen with the possibly related event you guys flashed about?
Hey News 24 680 I wanted to ask, I remember there was some sort of crime by Gloria Terrace or Withers within the last year and a half, was that a robbery or something? I really can’t remember, maybe I have gone crazy.
Thanks for the updates
Hey, YHHH (wondering what your corresponding Flasher name is!)
Glad you weren’t checking your phone while in motion and glad you got our alert. That’s what they’re for!
Still working this story and events at that other location and we’ll definitely update if we get something definitive.
And you’re welcome, as always, to search the site for mention of any incident on Gloria Terrace… we’d use that as your first search word.
Keep Flashing!
I think there was a fatal collision at the exact same spot a few years ago, (maybe 5 or more by now) perhaps that’s what are you remembering.
Still no updates on even the victim’s type of car?
No official update, A.
We’re working a couple of angles but nothing we’re comfortable putting out there at the moment.
The suspect was a passenger and he was masked. Road rage or something else?
Remains to be seen, Keith… lots of opinions out there, we’re looking for that elusive truth.
Bad things happen everywhere. No area is immune.
Payers for the family and friends of the victim. May his memory be a blessing.
Thanks 24/680 for keeping us all up to date on this horrible incident.
I am confident that our local police will find the suspect soon.
Good words, Abe… we appreciate them.
Good reason to have a dashcam running. The violent crime in this area has gone out of control. I have a feeling the shooter is not a local, however. Praying for the victim and family.
Crime in this area has gone out of control? What you talking about Willis?
What a strange occurrence for this area. I hope all is worked out and the gunman and get away driver are found.
It is so unbelievably bad right now – road rage. People often forget, those heavy vehicles you’re driving are already weapons. Really and truly senseless to be so overcome with irritation that you use it (or another deadly weapon) as retaliation.
Still unsure as to the precise motivation for this particular incident, Krystal, but we take your point on the use of our cars as wheeled weapons.
I hope involved law enforcement agencies “crack” the case sooner than later. Clearly a tragic event in a “good” neighborhood.
Yours truly appreciates the measured response of the good folks at 24/680 in releasing pertinent info once it is deemed reliable.
Keeping one’s proverbial powder dry seems to be a vanishing skill set for many….Onward.
Excelsior! Thanks for riding with us, Jeff…
did he live in the area?
Anyone else thinking this is going in a different direction than a random road rage incident?
Yes. Random acts of road rage rarely require bags of evidence from the victim’s home. Shot not far from his front door on a one-lane road that isn’t well-traveled at that hour, and should not normally generate road rage. Someone with the same name just recently registered as the CEO of a corporation in New York and CA, using a web law firm that sells corporate kits. We’ll see if there’s more here, a connection between the victim and the assailant.
I never thought it was road rage for two reasons. Mask wearing and the suspect was the passenger, not the driver. The first thing I thought of was drug related.
I think it was referred to as road rage because it usually is road rage when it happens on the road. It could be anything.
A passenger wearing a mask shooting another driver would be the most unusual case of road rage ever. The circumstances, including the age of the victim, are consistent with gang/drug warfare. I bet the police have determined the motive by now and are hunting the suspects. Calling it road rage could have been a clever way to persuade the suspects not to flee. If so, kudos to the newspeople who helped.
If this is in fact what happened it would not be the first time the police have used the media to spread a story line suitable to their line of investigation. I don’t think the press would KNOWINGLY do this (the days of JFK are long gone) and in fact I think they would be PISSED if they were used in this way. I know for a fact this site would be angry. Running a risk of appearing like an armchair detective I agree this case does not line up like a road rage shooting and I think other scenarios are probably being considered.
Hey, Doug, thanks and yes we’d be upset at that if it had happened but we don’t believe that’s the case here as police were – we believe – relaying what they were told by witnesses at the scene. Frankly, police have not released much about this case beyond some of the initial circumstances and the victim’s identity – so we have no reason to believe we’re being played.
Dan, Yes, especially if he was masked as reported…I don’t think too many road ragers take the time to put a mask on…
Dan- I do. Based on the fact that the PD removed many bags of evidence from the victim’s house close by definitely means there was more to the story. How a 20 year old could rent a $12K/mo house is intriguing. I don’t want to get into a blame the victim situation, but now I think that maybe the perp was laying in wait at the intersection of Gloria Terrace and Taylor since it was so near the victim’s house. Maybe a deal gone bad? The fact that the shooter got out of his car and shot into the victim’s makes it hard to believe it was road rage and he was shooting at a moving vehicle. It’s more likely that the victim was heading out or back from somewhere and the perps knew he would be at that intersection (maybe they called to meet him?) and were waiting for him. Very sad all the way around.
yeah – a 20 year old kid renting a multi-million dollar home in a gated area? by himself? that seems odd
You’re all jumping to so many assumptions on this it’s crazy. How could he afford that home? Because he’s a successful entrepreneur with his own business. LEGAL business. Drug related? Yes. He’s an award winning Cannabis Cultivator. One of the best in the business at 20 years old. Murdered for a plant. Cowards.
Very well said, he was a great man. And humble and caring. I hope the people responsible are caught.
Basil was a successful young entrepreneur, he was working with the company I work for which is a licensed distribution facility. I used to see him daily at the shop, I believe he was victim of a targeted robbery. He must have been trying to flee from the perpetrators and got chased down and gunned down. I don’t know how they found his body, but he used to wear some expensive jewelry. If he didn’t have it on him then I’m sure the guy who murdered him took his jewelry. My boss and I couldn’t believe it, we think he was being spied on and maybe the perps had an idea of where he lived so they stalked him to possibly break into his home. Basil wasn’t a guy you can push around, I’m sure after the encounter he most likely defend himself verbally and for that reason he got shot. I’m positive that the sheriff’s will do their job and catch these a** holes.
Thanks, Jv – it sounds like you two were colleagues/friends so… our condolences.
We haven’t heard anything about the jewelry, if he was in fact wearing any that day.
Thanks for writing…
jv- Sorry for the speculation and loss of your friend, but even though cannabis is legal, it still has street value and the perps must have figured that there was potential money and jewelry to be had. If the federal government would just get behind legalization, then there wouldn’t be so much cash and exposure for those in the industry. You never hear about the owners of alcohol companies getting targeted
Unfortunately since it’s not federally legal, most banks do not do business with legal cannabis businesses just for that fact. That’s a huge problem since business owners are forced to carry large sums of cash constantly.
I wanted to add, I had a typo when spelling his name on my first post. Also I have to say, we were more like acquaintances. I would just see him and his employees often since we worked out of the same building. Great guy though, always cool, calm collect. Rest In Peace.
Jv – Thanks for clarifying your spelling of Basel’s name. We wondered.
And we’re aware of the restrictive banking practices relative to cannabis businesses and the problem that presents for some within the industry. It has led to prior problems.
All best…
The Mercedes he was driving was very expensive as well. He really stood out. This is a senseless crime and my prayers go out to his family and friends.
Appreciate the input of his friends here as it explains some things. This site has consistently counseled restraint and an openness to new information on a case of more than a little importance to our city. Several people saw this murder or the moments immediately after so interest in the shooting death of a resident in broad daylight on a city street remains understandably high. Hopefully we’ll get the answers we all seek soon.
Beginning to make a little more sense though it doesn’t take any of the initial horror of the act away. Praying for justice soon.
Any news?
Has anybody heard any news
Just a lot of unsubstantiated chatter, Karina… which is fairly normal after an incident like this. If you have any firsthand knowledge you would like to share please contact us via our Tip Line…
Impossible that there are no updates or n this case
One of many we circle back to on a regular basis and one of several where very little – if any – additional information has been released.