17-year-old Nykerion Nealon arrested (Photo : Twitter/@KRLD)
Dallas police have made an arrest of a 17-year-old boy who was charged with the murder of an Iraqi man, Ahmed Al-Jumaili, as he took pictures of his first snowfall few weeks after arriving in the US.
Nykerion 'Kaca' Nealon has been charged with killing Al-Jumaili who was shot outside his apartment in Dallas, Texas on March 4 as he played snow with his wife and brother-in-law.
Nealon had been at his girlfriend's apartment in a neighboring complex earlier that evening when shots were fired on her building. According to Mail Online, the police said at a press conference on Friday that Nealon together with three friends went to look for the possible shooter.
A witness told the police that when they saw Al-Jumaili and his family outside the apartment block, Nealon raised and pointed his gun and then fired.
Dallas Police Major Jeff Cotner said that a statement from a witness says that he saw Nealon raise the rifle and took cover behind some mailboxes.
"The witness then heard one shot, followed by several more," Cotner said.
The 17-year-old and his friends returned to his girlfriend's apartment after the shooting. However, Nealon blamed another member of the group for firing the shots.
Police said that evidence-including a noticeable hat-pointed to Nealon being the one carrying the firearm and firing the shots.
His girlfriend's apartment was also searched and it yielded rifle cartridges that matched those found at the scene.
Police said evidence, including a distinguishable hat, pointed to him being the one carrying the firearm and ultimately firing the shots.
A search of the apartment also yielded rifle cartridges that matched those at the scene.
In reference to CBS News, authorities have released a surveillance video as well that shows two men who randomly pulled up to the apartment complex and began shooting.
Zahraa Altaie, Al-Jumaili's wife, told the station that they actually notice the men that were seen in the video that night, but they paid no attention to them nor did they do anything to provoke them. According to her, the shooting appeared to be random.
She said she put his hand on her husband's heart and it was still beating. She tried to stop the bleeding, but it was in vain.
Al-Jumaili had just moved from Iraq to Dallas where he and his wife reunited.
Al-Jumaili's father-in-law, Mohammed Altaie, said that he was just trying to settle down in Dallas; trying to find a decent job and start his new life. "We're looking for a safe place. Well educated, in a good environment. What he got was a bullet in his heart."
Authorities have not found out yet the motive of the shooting.
