They fought side-by-side with him in opposition to the Taliban within the Conflict on Terror, and now a heartbroken group of Inexperienced Berets is demanding justice for his or her Afghan “brother” and refugee whose killer stays free after gunning him down over a parking spot.
Abdul Rahman Waziri, a 31-year-old dad of two, was shot lifeless following an argument over parking at his Houston, Texas condo advanced final month after surviving years of disarming IEDs and fierce firefights in opposition to terrorists in Afghanistan earlier than transferring to the US together with his household as refugees in 2021.
“Abdul Rahman was literally willing to lay down his life for us – for us, for Americans,” Inexperienced Beret Ben Hoffman instructed The Put up. “He was a lion. He was a warrior. He was a hero.”
That’s why Hoffman stated he and others within the navy who served with Waziri, an alum of the elite Afghan Nationwide Mine Removing Group, are dismayed by how he was killed and outraged on the lack of justice within the wake of his mindless loss of life.
The lethal combat over the parking spot ended when the shooter walked away, solely to go to his automotive to get his gun, Waziri’s household lawyer, Omar Khawaja, stated, citing witnesses.
Waziri put his palms up and uttered his final phrases: “Please, don’t shoot” earlier than he was shot a number of occasions, in keeping with the lawyer.
Safety digicam footage obtained by the Put up exhibits the alleged killer strolling away from the taking pictures, holding a bag of McDonald’s.
Houston police haven’t made any arrests within the killing after the Harris County District Legal professional declined to cost the shooter, who had known as 911 and reportedly confessed.
Cops stated Monday that the investigation is ongoing whereas the gunman stays free and is again dwelling within the condo advanced.
“We are hopeful that the right decision is made here,” Khawaja stated about the potential of fees being introduced within the incident.
The suspect, who was not recognized by officers, known as police and turned himself in. He was questioned after which let go — outraging household and the members of the small however rising Afghan group in Houston, a lot of them troopers like Waziri who fought with US particular forces.
“To see a guy like that, a lion of a man, a man among men, to go to Houston of all places and get gunned down for no reason, it infuriates me,” Hoffman stated. “If he were going to get gunned down in Logar Province, it may have been different. You want to kill one of our dudes? It would be a hunt-kill mission until we found the guy who did it.”
As offended as he’s, Hoffman stated he would by no means take into account taking revenge.
“It’s not what Abdul Rahman would want,” he stated. “He was a peacemaker. He was a warrior, but he wanted to bring peace,” he added.
One other member of the Military who fought facet by facet with Waziri agreed.
“They were us. Without them, we were nothing,” stated Jay, a fight engineer who labored carefully with Waziri and different Afghan nationals. “They were one of us. They were our brothers.”
Jay, who declined to make use of his title out of security considerations, stated he can’t wrap his head across the irony that Waziri fled the notoriously brutal Taliban in his residence nation solely to get gunned down within the streets of Houston — the place his loss of life wasn’t given a second thought.
“It doesn’t make any sense. This guy needs justice, I don’t know how else to say it. It needs to be told to the f–king world, it’s really bad. If I went back to Afghanistan tomorrow, I would take Mr. Waziri with me, man.”
Abdullah Khan, Waziri’s organic brother, was additionally a member of the mine removing workforce.
“We were doing serious missions, we went to some spicy places with Americans, we were fighting the Taliban, but ISIS too,” he stated.
He stated within the chaos of the US withdrawal from Kabul in August 2021, Waziri needed to go away his spouse and new child child behind. His flight to the US took off simply two hours earlier than a suicide bomber blew himself up within the Kabul airport.
Waziri’s spouse and child later joined him in Texas, the place the couple had a second daughter lower than a yr in the past.
“He made it safely onto the airflight,” Khan stated. “He was lucky until this moment in the parking lot.”
The day after his brother’s slaying, Khan stated he was cleansing up Waziri’s blood within the parking zone when the alleged killer, who lives in the identical condo advanced, strolled by and glared at him.
“I was like ‘Oh my God’, he was looking at me like he didn’t like me. I was the one talking to the news. Cleaning up my brother’s blood.”
“We have in my country some of the worst laws in the world. But if something like this happened, you know the person will not walk in front of you,” Khan stated. “Even in Afghanistan, that wouldn’t happen.”
Waziri’s spouse, now a widow, is just too scared to remain in Houston with the couple’s two younger daughters, 9-month-old Zoya and her 4-year-old sister, Bahar. The mother and ladies are at present staying with Khan in Florida.
Waziri’s heroism was not restricted to the battlefield. Within the lead-up to the chaotic withdrawal of troops in the summertime of 2021, Waziri was important in serving to Afghans who have been allies to the US navy to get overseas by making a secure home and safeguarding invaluable intelligence.
“It was a s–t show, it was absolute madness,” stated a member of the Military who declined to make use of his title for his security. “But Mr. Waziri worked to keep people safe.”
“The Taliban were already spying on people. Rolling through the streets with guns. The executioner’s noose was coming,” stated Shireen Connor, a member of Waziri’s Afghan Evacuation Crew. “And Mr. Waziri held fast in making sure he was still helping other people, one thousand percent at the risk of his own life,”
“To know that somebody like that died in a parking lot with no justice served is a crime in and of itself,” Connor added.
“They wanted better for themselves and their country. They appreciate what the American servicemen were doing over there. They were brothers. That sense of democracy, that spirit – for Mr. Waziri to come here and get no due process, it’s unconscionable,” Connor stated.
Former Inexperienced Beret and US Military contractor Vince Leyva was so impressed with Waziri’s work that he introduced him on as a coach at Camp Dahlkie. Leyva would attempt to fulfill Waziri’s countless curiosity in regards to the US. He even organized a celebration for Waziri when he received engaged.
Leyva wrote letters of help for Waziri to return to the US and was thrilled when he lastly made it and was dwelling his life together with his spouse and two daughters in Texas.
“You fight to save American lives in a country like Afghanistan. You could have lost your leg, you could have lost your hand, your eye, your life. You do all that for America and survive getting shot by bullets and bombs,” he stated. “Then you’re killed in a parking lot. He deserved a different ending to his story.”
Leyva wrote a letter — certainly one of dozens — looking for justice for Waziri that can be delivered to the Houston mayor and the Harris County District Legal professional.
Leyva’s letter ends with a plea to metropolis officers.
“Please look into this man’s tragic killing so that his family can get justice for his father, brother, and husband who deserved to live in peace in a country he so courageously supported during our forever war in Afghanistan.”
The Houston mayor’s workplace, the Houston police division and the Harris County District Legal professional’s Workplace didn’t instantly return requests for remark.
