Family of Tulsa murder victim Khalid Jabara releases statement
TULSA, Okla. (KTUL) — The family of 37-year-old Khalid Jabara says they believe their son and brother is dead because the system failed.
Police say Jabara was shot and killed on his front porch in south Tulsa Friday night by his neighbor, Stanley Majors, with whom the family says they've had multiple run-ins.
Jabara's family released the following statement Monday:
{sd-embed class="sd-embedded-media" data-embed-file="%3Cdiv%3E%3Cdiv%20class=%22fb-post%22%20data-href=%22https://www.facebook.com/victoria.jabara/posts/10153714908035906%22%20data-width=%22750%22%20data-show-text=%22true%22%3E%3Cblockquote%20cite=%22https://www.facebook.com/victoria.jabara/posts/10153714908035906%22%20class=%22fb-xfbml-parse-ignore%22%3E%3Cp%3EPlease%20share%20and%20spread%20the%20word%20.%20This%20is%20our%20family's%20official%20statement.%20%20Thank%20you.%0A%0AJabara%20Family%20Statement%20on%20the...%3C/p%3EPosted%20by%20%3Ca%20href=%22#%22%20role=%22button%22%3EVictoria%20Jabara%20Williams%3C/a%3E%20on{{{{< >}}}}%3Ca%20href=%22https://www.face%0Abook.com/victoria.jabara/posts/10153714908035906%22%3EMonday,%20August%2015,%202016%3C/a%3E%3C/blockquote%3E%3C/div%3E%3C/div%3E" data-embed-type="code" contenteditable="false" }
On Friday night, our world was shattered when our brother, Khalid Jabara, was murdered on the front porch of our family home. The perpetrator was not unknown to us—he is our neighbor—someone whom we continuously brought to law enforcement’s attention. He killed our brother while awaiting trial for running over our mother, resulting in a broken shoulder, collapsed lung, broken ankle, broken nose, head trauma, and fractured ribs amongst other injuries. Only 30 minutes prior to my brother’s shooting, Khalid called the police stating this man had a gun and that he was scared for what might happen. The police came and told him there was nothing to be done. Minutes later, the suspect murdered our brother with four shots.
My family lived in fear of this man and his hatred for years. Yet in May, not even one year after he ran over our mother and despite our repeated protests, he was released from jail with no conditions on his bond—no ankle monitor, no drug/alcohol testing, nothing.
This suspect had a history of bigotry against our family. He repeatedly attacked our ethnicity and perceived religion, making racist comments. He often called us “dirty Arabs,” “filthy Lebanese,” “Aye-rabs,” and “Mooslems”—a fact highlighted by the Tulsa Police Department who also heard these comments from the suspect. The suspect’s bigotry was not isolated to us alone. He made xenophobic comments about many in our community -- “filthy Mexican” and the “n” word were all part of his hateful approach to anyone from a different background.
Today, in our pain, we are also keenly aware that this is not just another murder to be added to crime statistics. Our brother’s death could have been prevented. This man was a known danger. He intentionally tried to kill our mother less than one year ago when he ran her over with his car. Based on his racist comments towards us, he should have been charged with a hate crime then. He should not have been released without monitoring. Yet he was released and put back next door to us, the family he assaulted just months before. This is troubling at any time, but profoundly disturbing given the current climate of our country and the increase nationally in cases of hate crimes.
Our brother Khalid was just 37 years old and had his whole life ahead of him. He was a kind spirit, loving brother, uncle and son. Khalid’s heart was big. He cared for our entire family, our friends and people he didn’t even know. He created every Jabara family joke and filled our lives with love and laughter. All of that has been taken away from us by this hateful man and a system that failed to protect our community.
Jabara's family says Majors has repeatedly assaulted them verbally with threats and racial slurs referring to their Lebanese heritage.
Records show the family filed a protective order against Majors in 2013, which they say he violated.
Then in September 2015, Majors reportedly ran over Jabara's mother with his car. She endured months of surgeries, rehabilitation and recovery from multiple injuries.
Majors is charged with assault and battery with a deadly weapon in that case. The trial is set for March 27, 2017.
The Jabara family insists Majors should have been charged with a hate crime in that case because of his repeated racial epithets toward them.
He was released from the Tulsa County Jail in May with no restrictions.
The family said Khalid Jabara called police the evening he was killed to say he believed Majors had a gun and he was concerned about his family's safety.
Majors was not arrested at that time.
About half an hour later, police were called back to the neighborhood after Jabara had been shot.
They found Majors later that night, hiding behind a tree at the nearby Hardesty Library.
He's currently in jail without bond on a complaint of first-degree murder.
