These stalkers are wild and dangerous and once they are identified as stalkers, the law shouldn’t give them the freedom to go near their victims.
According to court documents, the First Take host Molly Qerim had to lock herself up in her bathroom with a knife after her alleged stalker Ahmed Abubakar showed up at her house in August.
FIRST Take host Molly Qerim grabbed a knife and locked herself in the bathroom after alleged stalker Ahmed Abubakar showed up at her house in August, according to court documents.
Abubakar, 41, an internal medicine physician from New Jersey, purportedly attempted to confront the ESPN star after months of online harassment.
The incident, combined with other alleged attempts to contact Qerim as well as Stephen A. Smith and Malika Andrews, prompted ESPN to file a successful restraining order petition against the doctor.
Case records claim Abubakar first visited Qerim’s parents looking for the sportscaster to talk about an apparent $5,000 debt she owed him.
About 20 minutes later, he allegedly pounded on her door, prompting Qerim to “grab the largest knife she could find and lock herself in the bathroom” before calling 911 on advice from an ESPN colleague, court records state.
Qerim’s “state of extreme emotional distress was visceral and indicative of the real ‘extreme’ and imminent danger [she] perceived herself to be in,” the colleague said in a statement filed with the TRO order.
Confronted by police, the documents claim Abubakar told the officers he sought a friend who owed him money – and when asked how they were friends, he said “he has been watching her on television for years.”
The internist also allegedly claimed he had been sending Qerim money in $500 increments for “dresses and various gift cards,” per case records.
When explained he likely fell victim to a scam, the doctor allegedly appeared convinced it was Qerim who had extorted him.
Abubakar was arrested and then released on bail, court documents indicate.
Just two hours later, he is said to have sent graphic threats to the First Take host in direct messages on Instagram, according to court papers.
One of them read: “You asked me if I wanted you to die? Yes I
want you to die for calling the cops and having me arrested. I hope you die real soon,” per the restraining order petition.The threats prompted Abubakar to be arrested again on felony electronic stalking as well as misdemeanor stalking and threatening charges with a $250,000 bail,” according to an arrest warrant application obtained by The U.S. Sun.
“Based on Ahmed Abubakar’s past and present actions I am extremely fearful for my personal safety and the safety of my family,” Qerim said in a statement filed with the warrant application.
“He has created emotional trauma for myself and my family. He has disrupted my life and the life of my family both personally and professionally.
“This has been an all-consuming nightmare!”
What particularly disturbed Qerim, she added, was Abubakar that a few days later, Abubakar tweeted at her and Smith to say he was happy to see them back on the show together “as if this arrest never happened.”
In the TRO submission, ESPN claimed the terrifying incident showed Abubakar’s “unhealthy obsession” with the network’s on-air talent “reached a crisis level.”
Court documents claim that the doctor sent Qerim a total of 139 tweets from April 25, 2019, through July 22, 2023.
Meanwhile, First Take co-host Smith allegedly received 291 tweets from December 6, 2019, to August 3, 2023.
Obsession leads to stalking and once it gets to the stage where the stalker shows up at the victim’s house, that’s the height of it. The police have to be involved for the safety of the victim.