NUSOJ reported that Abdullahi was at home when the clashes started. He contacted his media director, who advised him to stay indoors until the situation had calmed down. However, the journalist later left his house and was heading to the office when he was stopped by armed men who questioned him about his whereabouts and the media outlet he worked for. After answering their questions and identifying his employer, Abdullahi was shot twice in the back.

The journalist was rushed to the Bay General Hospital in Baidoa, where doctors performed an emergency surgery on him while arrangements were being made to transfer him to the capital, Mogadishu for further treatment.

On 3 September, clashes broke out between government forces and militias on the outskirts of Baidoa, a city in southwestern Somalia. At least one civilian was killed and 71 people were wounded, including 15 women, Dr Abdikafi Omar Mohamud, head of the emergency department at Bay Regional Hospital in Baidoa, told the Associated Press.

NUSOJ Secretary General Omar Faruk Osman said that when attacks on journalists go unpunished, it makes it easier for the next attack to happen. "Bashir's family deserves justice, as does every Somali journalist who goes out to do their job with the simple expectation of returning home safely. This chronic impunity must end now."

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IFJ General Secretary, Anthony Bellanger, said: "The killing of journalist Bashir Mohamed Abdullahi is unacceptable. Journalists must be able to work safely and freely while reporting on the ground, without fear of being attacked. We call on the Somali authorities to urgently investigate this killing and ensure that those responsible are held accountable."

The IFJ extends its sincere condolences to the family of Bashir Mohamed Abdullahi and the media community in Somalia.