An Afghan man who for years helped US forces in Afghanistan has been shot dead while working as a ride-share driver in Washington DC.
Nasrat Ahmad Yar, 31, fled the Middle East with his family after the Taliban took over and moved to America with his family.
Worried about money he had gone out to work on Monday night only to be shot dead, leaving his family and local community devastated.
He leaves behind four children. His eldest child, a girl, is now 13, and the others are boys, ages 11, 8 and just 15 months old.
No suspects have been arrested, but surveillance video captured the sound of a single gunshot and four boys or young men were seen running away. Police have offered a $25,000 reward for information leading to an arrest.
The police said in their report that they responded to a call about an unconscious person and found Ahmad Yar’s body.
They rushed him to the hospital, where he was declared dead. On the surveillance video they released, one of the four suspected attackers shouted, “You just killed him.” Another answered, “He was reaching, bro.”
As news of the dad's death spread, tributes began to pour in.
“He was so generous. He was so nice. He was always trying to help the people,” said Rahim Amini, a fellow Afghan immigrant and longtime friend. He said Nasrat always reminded him, “Don’t forget the people left behind.”
Nasrat stayed in Afghanistan until the US pulled out in August 2021 and the Taliban took over. He had worked for the US military for ten years so feared reprisals.
Mohammad Ahmadi, Nasrat’s cousin, was already in America after also working for the US military. The two talked on the phone about how to get Nasrat and his family out of Afghanistan. Mr Ahmadi said his cousin could see the Taliban soldiers walking through the streets of Kabul and was worried they would discover he’d been an interpreter helping the US.
When they weren't able to get out of the crowded Kabul airport, they travelled the country eventually able to get on a flight to the United Arab Emirates before flying from there on to America.
Jeramie Malone, an American who came to know Ahmed Yar through her volunteer work with a veteran-founded organization bringing former Afghan interpreters to safety, was struck by his generosity.
“He always wanted to be giving more than he was receiving and he was just really extremely kind.” In America, Malone said, “all he wanted was a chance.”
While waiting at the interim transit camp in the United Arab Emirates, he asked for writing supplies for the children so he could teach them English before they arrived in the US, Malone said. “It was really important for him for his kids to get an education and for them to ... have opportunities they never would have had in Afghanistan.”
Ending up in Alexandria, in northern Virginia just outside Washington, Nasrat found work as a ride-share driver. Despite just scraping by, he even managed to send money back to Afghanistan to help family and friends.
He liked to play volleyball with friends in the Washington suburb where many Afghans who fled their country now live. At 6 feet 5 inches, he had a powerful serve.
Mr Amini said they spoke Monday evening and the next thing he knew he was woken up by another Afghan friend who’d somehow heard that Ahmad Yar had been killed.
In disbelief, Mr Amini began frantically calling his friend. But it was the police who finally answered the phone: “The police officer said: ‘I’m sorry. Unfortunately he’s not alive anymore.’”
Since Nasrat’s death, condolences and donations for his wife and children have been flowing into fundraisers set up on GoFundMe and Facebook.
Washington has struggled to handle steadily rising crime rates, with murders and carjackings mostly to blame. Homicides are up 14% compared with this time last year. Early Wednesday, nine people enjoying the Independence Day festivities were shot and wounded, police said.
