The Iranian bass player who killed three Brooklyn bandmates had been increasingly upset because his visa was about to expire and he had no money, a pal said Tuesday.
“His visa was coming to an end, and he was in a bad position — he didn’t want to go back home, he liked it here,’’ said a neighbor who only gave his first name, Keith.
Speaking outside the Ridgewood, Queens, apartment of 29-year-old killer Ali Akbar Mohammadi Rafie, the resident said the perp rented a tiny 8-foot-by-8-foot room there, sharing a bathroom and kitchen with other tenants.
He slept on a mattress on the floor.
Tacked to the ceiling above his bed was a previous tenant’s tapestry of the Star of David, which he said he kept because he “liked the design,’’ said Keith, a 44-year-old carpenter.
But while the perp “was gentle, a nice guy,’’ he appeared to grow desperate in recent months over his expiring work visa, Keith said.
The flat-broke bassist had been banned from playing with local Iranian bands such as The Yellow Dogs and Free Keys last year because he stole money and equipment — and his situation was so desperate that his “relatives were petitioning members of the band to bring him back in,’’ said Police Commissioner Ray Kelly on Tuesday.
“He was reportedly despondent over the fact that he wasn’t in the band,” Kelly said.
The commish noted that the perp was well-prepared for his bloodbath at his fellow musicians’ Williamsburg pad early Monday — bringing 100 rounds of ammo with him.
“I still can’t even believe it,’’ Keith said. “I broke bread with him several times. We ate, we laughed, and he talked about how much he misses his mother.
“He talked about his family very, very minimally, but he loved his mother. He used to speak to her on the phone.’’
Lately, Rafie had been scraping by working as a bike messenger and stocking Citibikes in their racks, Keith said.
He said he noticed Rafie’s bike recently “parked a lot’’ outside the building, suggesting that what little work he had dried up.
Still, “his mood didn’t change. He didn’t look upset,’’ Keith insisted. “He always had the same expression, somewhat placid but humble.”
But looking at some of his Facebook updates, it was clear Rafie was troubled.
He posted Radiohead lyrics in September that read:
“Red wine and sleeping pills. Help me get back to your arms. Cheap sex and sad films. Help me get where I belong.”
Rafie killed two members of The Yellow Dogs — brothers Soroush and Arash Farazmand — as well as a musician who frequently toured with them, Ali Eskandarian, in a hail of 18 bullets before committing suicide with his military-style rifle.
He’d hid his gun, made in Spain and bought in upstate New York in 2006, in his guitar case.
The two surviving members of The Yellow Dogs, who weren’t home at the time of the slayings, posted poignant online messages to their murdered bandmates Tuesday.
“From Koory and Obaash: still in shock, we lost 3 of our brothers, Soroush Farazmand, Arash Farazmand and Ali Eskandarian, Rest In Peace,’’ tweeted The Yellow Dogs lead singer Siavash “Obaash’’ Karampour and bassist Koory Mirz.
The pair added on the band’s Facebook page: “Thanks every one for all your prayers and condolences. we’re still can’t believe this tragedy. R.I.P Arash Farazmand, Soroush Farazmand And ali eskandarian”
Jify Shah, the owner of the Brooklyn club Cameo, where the Yellow Dogs played, said Karampour and Mirz “are just completely heartbroken.”
Shah said the victims’ bodies will likely be flown back to Iran for burial.
“Nobody ever saw this coming,’’ the club owner said, although he acknowledged that Rafie stood out like a sore thumb whenever he was around the group.
“He’d be around all the other guys, who were fun social, positive. And he was just always the one and the weird one among them,’’ Shah said.
“But they were the kind of guys who were welcoming to anybody.”
The Yellow Dogs’ manager, asked about how the surviving band members were holding up, added, “It’s not a good situation.
“We’re just totally shocked and not in a good place right now,’’ said manager Ali Salehezadeh, his voice breaking.
Scores of the band’s fans posted Facebook messages of support.
“I cannot imagine what are you going through, but I really hope you guys get your strength back. and remember, the only way to respect the memory of Ali, Arash and Soroush is to get on, pick up your instruments and continue the legendary and revolutionary work you have done till now and always remember, you have the support of all of us,’’ wrote Nader Amraie.
The onetime-garage band fled ultra-conservative Iran in 2010 to be able to pursue their rock music, which is considered taboo by the government in Tehran.
They had since been granted asylum in the US and carved out a popular following in the Brooklyn and Manhattan indie rock scene.
Pooya Hosseini, a Free Keys member who helped stopped the carnage by struggling with Rafie, returned to the murder scene at 318 Maujer St. on Tuesday to try to collect some of his things.
“The cops won’t let me in,’’ he said, shrugging.
A woman with him only said, “He’s really been through a horrible, traumatic thing,’’ before the pair left in a white SUV
Additional reporting by Kevin Sheehan