Rabat, Morocco(TMT)- A 38-year-old Moroccan immigrant who works as a Taxi driver in Pittsburgh in the U.S., and who holds the U.S. nationality as well, has been shot while performing hi duty because of his religion, Islam.
According to Post Gazette who interviewed the victim, the Moroccan “picked a man up outside Rivers Casino at about 1 a.m. Thursday.”
It all started few minutes after the pick up as the passenger began asking the Moroccan driver about his background and whether he was from Pakistan.
“He started the conversation and began to ask questions like, ‘You seem to be like a Pakistani guy. Are you from Pakistan?’ ” the driver said in an interview from his bed at UPMC Mercy, where he is being treated for a bullet wound in the upper back.
“And I said, ‘No, I’m from Morocco. But I’m an American guy,’ the Moroccan said, Post Gazette reported.
“Then he continued the conversation. He began to speak about ISIS killing people. I told him ‘Actually, I’m against ISIS. I don’t like them.’ I even told him that they are killing innocent people. I noticed that he changed his tone and he began to satirize Muhammad, my prophet, and began to shift to his personal life. He mentioned that he has two kids and was in prison for some time.
“So it was this kind of stuff until we got to his destination. He asked me to wait for a little bit because he forgot his wallet in the house. I waited for just five minutes, I think, and I noticed that he came out of the house carrying a rifle in his hand. I noticed him coming toward me. I didn’t hesitate. I [made] a fast decision to leave and drove my taxi away because I felt he was going to do something. There is danger. He would shoot me or something. I felt like he had the intention to kill me.”
As soon as the Moroccan driver started speeding away, the crazy assaulter started shooting with his rifle, with one of the shots blasting out the back window of his cab and lodging in his shoulder.
The Moroccan was lucky as he was able to flee the scene, though injured, to finally reach a safe harbor, pull over and get help.
Post Gazette said he is right now in stable condition, with “the bullet still lodged in his back between his shoulder blades.”
The name of the Moroccan was not revealed as he has requested anonymity out of fear for his safety.
The Moroccan Times.
