Dallas Police Arrest Suspect In Shooting Death Of Iraqi Refugee

Published March 13, 2015 at 1:45 PM EDT

This undated photo provided by Zahraa Atlaie shows Atlaie, left, and her husband Ahmed Al-Jumaili. Ahmed fled the violent grip of militants in his homeland had come to Dallas to reunite with his wife. (Courtesy of Zahraa Atlaie)

At a press conference this morning, Dallas police identified a suspect in the March 4 shooting death of Iraqi immigrant Ahmed Al-Jumaili last week. Nykerion Nealon, a black 17-year-old, was arrested last night and charged with murder.

Al-Jumaili was shot while taking pictures of his first snowfall outside his new home in Dallas, Texas. Community leaders say it’s left many Muslims who live in the area feeling afraid.

The shooting comes just weeks after three Muslim students were gunned down at the University of North Carolina, and at what some call a time of outspoken animus toward Muslims in the Dallas-Forth Worth area.

Alia Salem is executive director of the Dallas-Fort Worth chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR). She tells Here & Now’s Jeremy Hobson what’s known about the suspect and how the murder has affected the Muslim community in Texas.

Read the statement from CAIR

Guest

Alia Salem, executive director of the Dallas-Fort Worth chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, or CAIR. She tweets @aliarsalem.