WASHINGTON: A Pakistani-American was shot dead in a US city this week just after he dropped off his daughter at school, police and lawyers said.

Mukhtar Ahmed, 41, was from Gujranwala, who lived and owned a convenience store in Louisville, Kentucky.

Mr Ahmed was driving on a highway in Louisville after dropping off his daughter when he was shot multiple times through the passenger door of his black SUV on Thursday.

He was pronounced dead at the scene. Mr Ahmed left behind three kids, aged 13, 11 and six.

Police arrested the alleged shooter, Christopher L. McCullum, three hours after the shooting. He has been charged with murder.

Police Chief Steve Conrad told media that there was no indication of business dispute and no apparent connection between the individuals.

“I don’t exactly know the motive,” he said. “It appears to be some sort of road rage incident, but I don’t know that for a fact.”

The victim’s wife, Shamy Nabil, a Moroccan Muslim, told their family lawyer, Khalid Kahloon, she wanted a thorough probe, and urged police to “determine what caused this senseless murder.”

“Very tragic for the small community of Pakistani-Americans in Louisville,” Mr Kahloon told Dawn. “Coming so soon after the double-murder in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, it has increased their sense of insecurity.”

A young couple was gunned down in Chapel Hill about 20 days ago, apparently over a parking dispute. Their family, however, insists that they were killed because they were Muslims.

There are between 700 and 1000 Pakistani-Americans in Louisville, mostly professionals, physicians and business people.

Published in Dawn, March 1st, 2015

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