Slain Brothers Remembered As "Gentle, Humble Men"

Two Evanston brothers were found shot to death in their downtown Evanston tobacco store Tuesday night, according to police.

Throughout the day on Wednesday, police officers, local shop-owners and community members searched for answers in the deaths of Azim Hakeem, 38, and Mobeen Hakeem, 34, both Evanston residents who worked at their family store, Evanston Pipe & Tobacco, 923 Davis St.

Here's what Patch has reported so far:

• Nearby Shop-Owners Remember Hakeem Brothers
• Family Issues Statement, Calling Brothers "Gentle, Humble Men"
• Photos From the Scene Outside Evanston Tobacco & Pipe Shop

Below is the original story from Wednesday:

Two men were found Tuesday night apparently shot to death in the basement of a tobacco shop in downtown Evanston, according to Police Cmdr. Jason Parrott.

Police have classified the incident as a death investigation, according to Parrott. The men were found at the Evanston Pipe & Tobacco store, at 923 Davis St. at 8:20 p.m. 

Parrott said police responded to the store to check the premises at the request of a concerned family member. They found Azim Hakeem, 38, and Mobeen Hakeem, 34, apparently dead from gunshot wounds, according to Parrott. He said the two men are brothers from Evanston. 

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"There are no indications that a robbery had taken place at the scene and this incident is being classified as a death investigation at this time," Parrott said in a press release. 

He said Evanston Police detectives were currently investigating the incident, with the help of the North Regional Major Crime Task Force. A representative of the Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office told Patch that an autopsy is scheduled to take place between 9 a.m. and 2 p.m. Thursday. 

The brothers' uncle, Qudrat Syed, told CBS Local that the two men took over working at the 30-year-old store five years ago, after their father needed a wheelchair. He said their mother drove to the store last night after she could not reach her sons by phone, and found the door locked but the "Open" sign still flashing, according to CBS Local.

"My brothers were gentle, humble men who did not deserve anything like this," a family member posted in a statement taped to the door of a home that is listed online as the Hakeems' address. The note was signed "Farheen Hakeem, daughter, sister and friend."