The Arlington man was fatally shot in his driveway during a car burglary.
Arlington Police are looking for two people they say shot and killed a man early Tuesday morning after he arrived home to find them in his driveway.
According to police, investigators believe two people were attempting to break into parked cars along the 1400 block of Prentice Street, near the Arlington Municipal Airport, when 36-year-old Ali Ismail arrived home from work at about 5 a.m. and encountered the armed robbers.
“It is believed that there were two male suspects in the neighborhood pulling on door handles, and one of the males was in the victim's driveway when the victim arrived home today,” Sgt. Courtney White said in a press conference. “And once the victim pulled into the driveway, the suspect fired several rounds at the victim.”
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White said the man reversed his vehicle and stopped in the roadway. That's where police officers found him when they arrived at the home at about 5:15 a.m.
“When (officers) arrived, they found a deceased male inside of an SUV,” White said. “It was apparent that the male sustained gunshot wounds.”
Elliot Perkins lives across the street from Ismail. Perkins said was getting ready to leave for work when he heard the gunshots.
"I initially thought it was fireworks, so my brain was like, 'Who’s shooting fireworks this early in the morning?'" Perkins recalled.
He later heard Ismail's wife screaming for help. Video from Perkins' doorbell shows him running outside shortly after.
"I have a wife. I have two kids, and I would want someone to do the same," he said. "When [Ismail's wife] screamed for bloody murder, like, 'Help, help!' I had to go do something. I didn’t know what I could do, but just being there so I could lend a hand to whatever."
Arlington Police believe both of the people involved ran from the neighborhood, heading east along Prentice Street. Neither has been positively identified and no arrests have been made.
Some neighbors said they heard more than 10 shots fired.
Travis Jones, who lives a block over from where the shooting took place, told NBC 5 Tuesday morning that he was getting ready to leave for work shortly before 5 a.m. when he heard a number of gunshots.
“I was putting on my clothes, getting ready to leave the house, and I hear gunshots,” Travis Jones said. “But it (sounded) like an automatic (weapon) was shooting.”
The Somalian community is mourning the death of Ismail, who was identified to NBC 5 by his family. He is survived by his six children and a pregnant wife.
It was his wife who ran outside and found him moments after she heard the gunshots.
“She was the first person to come out to see him dead in the car,” said Osman Salat, a friend of the family. “We are grieving with the family and all of us as a community. We have been here since morning to make sure that we give the support we can, whatever they need. And hopefully, the people who did this will be brought to justice."
Detectives canvassed the area to gather more evidence, searching for any residential surveillance system that may have captured the incident or Ismail's killers on video. A spokesperson for Arlington police confirmed they have collected video and are currently reviewing it.
Neighbors like Roque Pineda said he is considering adding security cameras in light of what happened. About three years ago, his car was broken into.
"Lately, in the past year, I have had that gut feeling that someone is going to go into my house and steal my things," Pineda said. "I don’t feel safe. It just doesn’t feel safe."
The Somalian community hopes reward money will help a witness come forward.
“Anybody (that) knows anything, please let us know. We are willing to put a reward out there,” said Mustafa Yasiin, a friend of the family.
Anyone with information regarding this incident is urged to call Detective Hall at 817-459-5325. Tipsters can also remain anonymous by calling Crime Stoppers of Tarrant County at 817-469-8477.
On Thursday, Oak Farms Dairy in Dallas offered a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and successful prosecution of the suspects.
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