Ahmed Al-Jumail was outside with his wife just after midnight Thursday taking pictures of the newly fallen snow when witnesses saw two men walk casually past the couple before turning around and shooting at them, police say. Al-Jumail was hit and transported to the hospital, where he died. He was 36 and had recently emigrated from Iraq.
Alia Salem, executive director of the North Texas chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, has asked that police investigate whether the Al-Jumail and his wife's faith -- and maybe her hijab -- played a role in Al-Jumail's death.
The shooting happened on the 9900 block of Walnut Street in Far northeast Dallas, an area that has a high population of Muslims, Salem says, along with many other refugees.
"It's a well known area, so whether it was a religious or ethnic motive, it could be either one of those things or it could be just evil people," Salem says.
The location, Salem says, and the recent killings of three young Muslims in North Carolina, mean that CAIR is on higher alert than normal.
Maj. Jeff Cotner of the crimes against persons division told The Dallas Morning News that the department has not ruled out that the shooting was a hate crime.
Update 9:52 a.m.: Salem gave the following update on her Facebook page Thursday night:
