(Newswire.net — March 7, 2015) — Dallas, Texas. – When Ahmed Al-Jumaili arrived in United States three weeks ago, he was hoping to find the American dream. Instead, he got a bullet to his heart. He was killed while his wife was taking a photo of him mesmerized by the shapes and softness of a winter snow he never before experienced.
Al-Jumaili’s father in law who lives in Dallas told CNN that 36-year-old Ahmed was well-educated young man who left Iraq not only to reunite with his wife, but also to escape from the threat of ISIS, hoping he could start a new prosperous life in US. “He was a wrong man at the wrong place,” Al-Jumaili’s father in law said.
CNN reported that authorities have stepped up patrols in the neighborhood where Ahmed Al-Jumaili lived and killed early Thursday, in their effort to find the clues. According to the ABC News, the North Texas Crime Stopers offered $5,000 for information that leads to an arrest.
A witness told CNN reporter that thee were multiple shooters who just came on foot around the corner and start shooting. According to statements from witnesses and the victim’s relatives, when gunfire broke out Al-Jumaili cried out, “I’m hit.” He died few hours later.
There is “extreme heartache … and no shortage of sadness for this beautiful young man who had just come to this country 20 days ago,” said Alia Salem, executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) in the Dallas and Fort Worth area, CNN reported.
While police at the time have no indication that the shooting was the hate crime, Salem said the Muslim community wanted to know whether Al-Jumaili was targeted.
According to the witnesses, multiple shots were fired from what is believed to be rifles or machine guns. CAIR is fundraising to help Al-Jumaili’s family and to help the police by offering a prize money for any information.
The police forensics have not yet established the type of a weapon that killed Ahmed. However, even when they do, it will be hard to pin point the suspects because weapons are sort of a culture in Texas. The state has more gun dealers — about 8,500 — than any other state, and one can by a semi-automatic in every one of them, according to statistics kept by the ATF.
The weapons are so common in Texas that two Texas school districts have adopted policies allowing teachers and faculty to carry guns on school grounds. Three Texas districts allow guns in schools.
It is so easy to acquire military-style weapons and equipment in Texas, ATF reported thousands of guns bought legally make it across the state’s southern border and into the hands of Mexican drug cartels.
Despite an abundance of weapons, gun rights advocates refer to the national statistics that say state’s death rate from firearms is 11 per 100,000 residents, below many other states.