Iraqi man killed in U.S. while taking pictures of snow

10/03/2015| IslamWeb

An Iraqi immigrant was fatally shot in the U.S. state of Texas while he was outside taking pictures of the snow on Thursday, according to local media.

The Dallas police department was seeking two suspects in the shooting death of Ahmed Al-Jumaili, 36, The Dallas Morning News daily said.

The murder comes as the U.S. Muslim community remains on edge following the killing of three Muslim students in North Carolina last month by a man describing himself as a "gun-toting" atheist.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations, a Muslim advocacy group, called on authorities to investigate whether religious bias was behind the killing of al-Jumaili.

“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,” said Alia Salem, executive-director of the North Texas chapter of the group.

Social media reports said Al-Jumaili was a newlywed who had recently emigrated from Iraq.

He was taking pictures of the snow with his family in a parking lot when he was fatally wounded, local media said. He later died at Texas Health Presbyterian of Dallas.

Authorities did not rule out a bias motive behind the killing, Jeff Cotner with Dallas police department said, according to The Dallas Morning News.

On Feb. 10, Deah Barakat, 23, his wife Yusor Mohammad Abu-Salha, 21, and her sister Razan Mohammad Abu-Salha, 19, were fatally shot in a North Carolina residential complex.

The shooting sent shockwaves across the world and triggered broad speculation about whether religious hatred motivated the murders.

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