A judge in Indianapolis sentenced a former soldier to 55 years in prison in a road rage shooting, reports WTHR.
Prosecutors say Dustin Passarelli followed Mustafa Ayoubi off the highway and engaged in a verbal altercation in 2019. Witnesses accused Passarelli of screaming Islamophobic comments before shooting the 32 year old.
According to WRTV, Passarelli admitted following Ayoub to his apartment. Insults included “go back to your country.”
The district attorney’s office declined to file hate crime charges, but said it would prosecute the case vigorously.
Aljazeera cited local news sources that said the autopsy report revealed Ayoubi had been shot eight times including 7 times in the back.
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Passarelli claimed self-defense saying Ayoubi either threw an object at his car or collided with it. However, police found no evidence of damage on Passarelli’s vehicle.
His sister Zahra said she feels her brother has received justice.
“A soul so bright, cut short by hate, in the depths of night. He was more than a victim, he was a flame, he stood and put hate to shame,” she wrote on social media.
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