A Texas man was fatally shot when he pulled into his Arlington driveway where a burglary suspect was hiding, police said.
The shooting was reported around 5:15 a.m. in the 1400 block of Prentice Street, near South Collins Street and Interstate 20.
When officers arrived at the home, they found a gunshot victim, a 36-year-old man identified as Ali Ismail, unresponsive in an SUV. Ismail died at the scene, police said.
As detectives investigated the shooting, they learned that two suspects had been trying to break into parked cars in the neighborhood when Ismail drove up to his home.
One of the suspects was trying to hide in Ismail’s driveway. When Ismail pulled into the driveway, the suspect pulled out a gun and fired multiple shots at him, killing him, police said.
The suspects then ran from the neighborhood, going east on Prentice Street.
Investigators placed about a dozen yellow evidence markets in the roadway Tuesday.
“I don’t know that the victim was not targeted. I do know that witnesses saw the individuals in the neighborhood pulling on door handles,” said Arlington Police Sgt. Courtney White.
In an update Wednesday, police said they obtained surveillance video during the investigation. One of the pieces of video taken around 2:30 a.m. that morning showed a person trying to break into a vehicle in a nearby neighborhood, police said.
It’s unclear if the person is connected to the shooting of Ismail. Police said he is currently a person of interest.
Family and friends said Ismail moved to Arlington in 2008 and owned Panda Logistics, LLC, a trucking company. He has six kids and another on the way, family said.
“This is sad, man. The man is a hard-working guy. Had six kids. I don’t know what to tell you. I don’t know what to tell you. This is not right,” said family member, Mustafa “Kiko” Yasiin.
He said Ismail’s oldest child is 13 years old and said he talked to Ismail Monday night.
“Everything seemed normal. I was hoping to see him today,” Yasiin said. “We don’t know what happened. But we would like answers.”
Yasiin and Ismail are members of the Somali community in North Texas.
“It is sad for our community to go through this. We have never had a situation like this,” community leader Osman Salat said. “We don’t know what to do.”
Salat said the Somali community has been rallying around the victim’s pregnant wife.
“We cannot actually put words into what is going through her mind. She was the first person to come out to see him dead in the car. She’s sad. She’s overwhelmed,” said Salat.
Late last week, the Arlington Police Department made a post on Facebook, asking for the public’s help in locating suspects wanted in connection with multiple vehicle robberies in Arlington, that also resulted in a person being shot.
“Not particularly in this area, but just in the city of Arlington,” White said when talking about the Facebook post after Ismali’s death.
Anyone with information about the shooting death of Isamali is asked to call the police detective at 817-459-5325. Tipsters can also submit anonymous information by calling Crime Stoppers of Tarrant County at 817-469-8477.
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