DALLAS, March 7 (UPI) -- An Iraqi man who recently moved with his wife to the United States for safety reasons was shot and killed in Texas while watching snow fall for the first time.
The incident occurred early Thursday in Dallas as Ahmed Al-Jumaili, 36, observed snowfall with his brother in an apartment parking lot while his wife took photos. Rifle fire from an unidentified group of men struck multiple cars and Al-Jumaili, who cried, "I'm hit." He retreated to his apartment, where he died a few hours later.
Dallas police spokesman Jeff Cotner said witnesses reported two to four men entering the front gate of the complex before the shooting. Authorities have stepped up patrols in the area and are offering a $5,000 reward for information leading to an arrest and indictment.
A fundraising website set up by Al-Jumaili's friends says he married his wife 16 months ago in Iraq, but the two moved to the United States because they thought it would be a "safer place." Al-Jumaili initially stayed in Iraq for financial reasons and eventually joined his wife. He had been in the United States for 20 days.
Cotner said Wednesday's snowfall was the first Al-Jumaili had ever seen. "Just like all of us, a pretty snowfall brings the child out in us," Cotner said.
Alia Salem, executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations in the Dallas and Fort Worth area, told CNN there was "a heightened sense of awareness with regard to hate crimes against Muslims."
Muslims in Qatar and Gaza rallied to condemn the shooting deaths of three Muslim students last month in Chapel Hill, N.C., though authorities have not classified the killings as a religiously motivated hate crime.
Police said no evidence has indicated that Al-Jumaili's killing was a hate crime, but Cotner admitted there is little to go on and encouraged witnesses to step forward. "We can't solve this crime alone" he said.
