US teen charged over murder of Afghan refugee in Washington

A 15-year-old suspect was taken into custody by Washington, D.C. police on Friday and charged with first-degree murder in relation to the July shooting death of Nasratullah Ahmad Yar, a former U.S. military interpreter. Yar, an Afghan immigrant, was shot and killed in the Capitol Hill area while doing Lyft deliveries.

According to a report by the Washington Post, former U.S. Army Special Forces interpreter Nasrat Ahmad Yar, 31, and his family left Afghanistan in search of safety in the United States. In July 2023, he was shot and killed in Washington, D.C., while working as a Lyft driver. That summer, the city’s record high homicide rate was a result of several deaths, including his.

Authorities detained a 15-year-old suspect on Friday in relation to the murder of Mr. Yar. He gets charged as a juvenile because of his age. Although they designated him as a “primary suspect,” police withheld information regarding his suspected involvement, including whether or not he fired the firearm. They also hinted that there might be more suspects in this case.

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“The reckless actions of these teens cost a man’s life and shattered a family just starting on their journey in this country,” said Leslie Parsons, assistant chief of the D.C. police Investigative Services Bureau.

“No arrest will be able to make them whole, but today’s message sends a message loud and clear to those looking to introduce guns on our streets.”

Nasrat Ahmad Yar was in the Capitol Hill neighborhood, parked his black Toyota Highlander one block south of Maryland Avenue NE, according to the police. A gang of youngsters approached him after he had finished a passenger’s journey.

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The teenagers “may have been trying to take his vehicle,” according to Mr. Parsons, who was shot during the exchange.

“You just killed him,” one person can be heard saying in the footage.

Ahmad Yar’s 33-year-old cousin Mateen Rahmati said that his family was informed by police on Friday that an arrest had been made in the case.

“This is a relief for the family in Afghanistan and his kids here,” Rahmati said, adding that his relatives had been consistently asking when there would be an arrest.

“He has to be punished for what he did.”