Photo:GoFundMe
GoFundMe
A former US Army interpreter, who immigrated with his family from Afghanistan to the United States in 2021, has been shot and killed while driving for Lyft in Washington, D.C. on Monday.
Nasrat Ahmad Yar, 31, was found in his car just after midnight on Monday morning after police responded to reports of an unconscious person. Ahmad Yar suffered a fatal gunshot wound and was immediately taken to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
“I don’t have words for it. It’s unfathomable how senseless this is for somebody who came here for the express opposite reasons,” veteran and friend Matthew Butler toldFox 5.
Ahmad Yar brought his family to the U.S. in August 2021 and landed on Alexandria, Va., to be closer to the D.C.-Afghan community, according to Fox 5. Butler said before being an interpreter, Ahmad Yar worked for the U.S. Government since the age of 10 — taking any small job he could get.
“Once your deployment is over, you’re in even more danger, than you were before because now you have nobody but yourself to defend – to defend yourself against the Taliban,” Jeramie Malone, who helped Ahmad Yar and his family escape Afghanistan, told Fox 5. “That is really a huge sacrifice for somebody to make it. He was in a lot of danger in Afghanistan, so yeah, for him to come here and in less than two years after arriving in the States — it’s really devastating.”
Shortly after the shooting, authorities releasedvideo footagethat shows four people running away from the scene.
The recording from an alleyway security camera shows Ahmad Yar dropping off his customers before sitting in the parked car with his hazard lights on for several minutes. Then, a group of suspects approached the vehicle and moments later a single gunshot can be heard before the suspects bolt.
In the video, you can hear someone say, “you just killed him” and another voice replies, “he was reaching,” more than once.
Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Sign up forPEOPLE’s free True Crime newsletterfor breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases.
A spokesperson for Lyft provided a statement to Fox 5 expressing the company’s sadness about Ahmad Yar’s death.
“Our hearts are with Mr. Nasrat’s loved ones as they confront this unspeakable tragedy. We have reached out to his family to offer our support and are in contact with law enforcement to assist with their investigation.”
The Metropolitan Police Department is now offering a $25,000 reward for information leading to an arrest.
source: people.com
