A GoFundMe campaign organized to help the family of a Pakistani immigrant killed in a carjacking in Washington D.C. last week has now raised over $700,000.
Two teenagers have been arrested and charged for carjacking and assaulting Mohammad Anwar, 66, of Springfield, Virginia, on the 1200 block of Van Street SE in Washington D.C. on March 23.
The two suspects, aged 13 from Southeast D.C. and 15 from Fort Washington, Maryland, also fired a stun gun at the victim during the incident, according to NBC Washington.
A video posted on Twitter showed Anwar hanging by the driver’s side while yelling, “They’re thieves. This is my car,” Newsweek reported. Anwar was still clinging to the side of the vehicle when the suspects sped off and caused the car to flip.
The two suspects came out of the crashed vehicle unscathed while Anwar lay injured on the sidewalk.
Emergency personnel came to the scene around 4:30 p.m. and took Anwar to a nearby hospital. He was pronounced dead after “all lifesaving efforts failed.”
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The two suspects were arrested on felony murder and carjacking charges. They appeared in juvenile court on March 24, and their attorneys requested for them to be released after entering pleas of not involved.
Lehra Bogino, Anwar’s niece by marriage, set up a GoFundMe campaign to help the man’s family. Anwar has a wife and two children living with them in the U.S. and a child and four grandchildren in Pakistan, KIRO7 reported.
“My family is experiencing a devastating and traumatic loss of our beloved uncle,” Bogino wrote in a Facebook post. “Many you may have seen the story about a tragic carjacking in Navy Yard from yesterday. The man who died was my husband’s uncle. We are all so confused, angry, and heartbroken by this ridiculous and nonsensical act of violence. All he did was go to work to support his family.”
“Anwar was the financial provider for his family,” the GoFundMe campaign reads. He immigrated to the country in 2014.
“This money will help with providing Uncle Anwar with a proper Islamic burial, loss of wages for the family, and pain and suffering,” an update in the campaign reads.
Uber extended their condolences to the family in a statement to NextShark.
“We are devastated by this tragic news and our hearts go out to Mohammad’s family during this difficult time,” the company said in the statement. “We’re grateful the suspects have been arrested and thank the Metropolitan Police Department for their diligence with this investigation.”
NextShark has reached out to Bogino for further comment and will update this story accordingly.
Feature Image via Lehra Bogino
