An Iraqi immigrant watching his first snowfall after moving to the Dallas, Texas, a few weeks ago has been shot dead by unknown assailants, fuelling nationwide anger and concerns within the Muslim community here about a spike in hate crimes.
The killing of Ahmed Al-Jumaili (36) occurred when he was taking photographs of snowfall outside his apartment, along with his wife Zahraa, who welcomed him to the U.S. three weeks ago after waiting more than a year for his paperwork to be completed.
While the four assailants spotted by witnesses are thought to be still at large, surveillance camera footage showed one person carrying a rifle and running ahead of a second person, who was holding what appeared to be a handgun.
In a statement, Alia Salem, Executive Director of the Dallas chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, said that Mr. Al-Jumaili had escaped violence in Iraq and had been in Dallas for just 20 days when he was shot.
According to reports, CAIR has raised a $7,000 reward for information to help in the investigation into the killing and the anti-crime programme CrimeStoppers announced a separate $5,000 reward.
The Dallas shooting comes scarcely one month after a family of three young Muslims were shot dead at their home in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, in what is suspected to be a hate crime, although the alleged killer’s wife in that case maintained that the shooting was over a parking dispute.
“Because of recent incidents targeting American Muslims, including the murder of three young Muslims in North Carolina, we urge law enforcement authorities to address community concerns about a motive in this case,” Ms. Salem said.
