World Bulletin / News Desk
A teenager was arrested Friday in the U.S. state of Texas in the murder of an Iraqi man who was killed last week while taking pictures of his first snowfall.
Nykerion Nealon, 17, is charged with killing Ahmed Al-Jumaili, 36, an Iraqi refugee who had fled violence in his homeland only three weeks before, said police authorities in Dallas, according to local media.
Jumaili was gunned down March 4 outside his apartment complex in front of his wife and brother-in-law.
Police Maj. Jeff Cotner said authorities were investigating if three other individuals seen on surveillance video captured at the scene of the crime "have some culpability," according to The Dallas Morning News.
Nealon had been at his girlfriend's apartment in a neighboring complex when shots were fired at her building, Cotner said during a press conference.
Police believe the suspect was looking for the possible shooter when he gunned down Jumaili, local media said.
The incident occurred at a time when U.S. Muslims are on edge following the killing of three Muslim students in North Carolina last month by a man who described himself as a "gun-toting" atheist.
Muslim advocacy group Council on American-Islamic Relations urged authorities to investigate whether religious bias was behind Jumaili's killing.
Jumaili had saved money for more than a year to leave behind deadly strife in Iraq. He and his wife, Zahraa, had married just 16 months ago.