WASHINGTON: A 66-year-old Pakistani American, Mohammed Anwar, was killed after two teenage girls assaulted him with a Taser while trying to snatch his car, police said.

A 13-year-old from Southeast Washington and a 15-year-old from Fort Washington, Maryland, have been charged with felony, murder and armed carjacking.

Anwar, an UberEats driver from Springfield, Virginia, was buried in a Muslim graveyard on Thursday, two days after the crime. He leaves behind a wife, three adult children and four grandchildren.

Police did not release the names of the accused because they were below the legal adulthood age of 18 but said they had admitted their involvement in the carjacking.

“The family is devastated by this senseless crime. Mohammad Anwar was a father, a grandfather, a husband, a brother, and uncle beloved by many here in the United States and in Pakistan, his birth country,” Anwar’s family said in a statement.

Members of the Pakistani community in the greater Washington area said Anwar was a hardworking immigrant who came to the United States in 2014, working tirelessly to build a better life for himself and his family.

“He chose happiness each day and it was infectious. The loss felt by his death is immeasurable and he is missed tremendously by family and friends,” the family said.

The community has setup a GoFundMe page to assist Anwar’s family with its loss of income.

In less than six hours, the page raised more than $36,000 for Anwar’s family.

On Wednesday, the two teenage defendants appeared in a Washington court where the prosecution shared witness video of the alleged carjacking.

Prosecutors said Anwar encountered the girls in Southeast Washington as they were trying to steal his Honda Accord.

They said Anwar became wedged between a car door and the driver’s seat as the two teenagers, who were inside the car, set the gear into drive.

The car sped down Van Street South East — with Anwar hanging from it — and hit a lamppost, causing the door to swing back and hit Anwar.

He died later at a local hospital.

Police said carjackers often target Uber drivers in this area, known as the Navy Yard. Since January, police have arrested 23 teenagers from this area for trying to snatch cars from Uber drivers.

Published in Dawn, March 26th, 2021