Tulsa authorities said Stanley Majors, 61, shot and killed his neighbor Khalid Jabara, 37, after harassing his family for years. “He often called us “dirty Arabs, ‘ ‘filthy Lebanese, ‘ ‘Aye-rabs, ‘ and ‘Mooslems”, said Williams.
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The slain man’s family, who are Lebanese Christians, say the suspect taunted them with slurs and harassed them for years.
The family’s outrage is heightened by the fact that Majors had already been in jail for having run over Khalid Jabara’s mother Haifa Jabara with his auto while she was jogging a year ago.
“After the shooting Majors pointed his gun at a witness and then fled on foot”, police said. Police showed up but left the neighborhood without questioning Majors. Majors was arrested and charged with felony assault.
Neighbors lodged several complaints with police against Majors over his behavior.
“He walked onto our property and started screaming to my family “all you Mexicans, leave out of here” (and) stuff like that”, a neighbor said.
The family says the murder was a hate crime.
“The frustration that we continue to see anti-Muslim, anti-Arab, xenophobic rhetoric and hate speech has unfortunately led up to a tragedy like this”, the family told CNN.
“Yet in May, not even one year after he ran over our mother and despite our repeated protests, he was released from jail with no conditions on his bond-no ankle monitor, no drug/alcohol testing, nothing”.
Victoria, my heart breaks for you and your family over the loss of your brother Khalid.
Williams also made it clear that the Jabara family repeatedly reached out to law enforcement for help as Majors continued to terrorize and hurl racially offensive insults their way. He was a kind spirit, loving brother, uncle and son.
Jabara was shot to death on his front porch August 12.
In addition to many on social media, civil rights groups, including the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, have decried Jabara’s death.
Prosecutors had accused Majors of intentionally assaulting her, leaving her with a broken shoulder and other injuries, according to court records. But three months ago, a judge allowed his release until his trial in March 2017.
The victim’s family said they lived in fear, and considered moving, but their parents are not that mobile.
In the days since the Jabara family spoke out about the murder, they have received an outpouring of support “from people all over the country, and in fact all over the world”, family friend Rebecca Abou-Chedid told AFP. He died in the hospital a short time later.
Here, in the United States, Mr. Jabara and his family became targets of violence and hatred not because of their faith, but because of their Middle Eastern identity and culture.
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Majors is now in police custody, again, on suspicion of first-degree murder.
