Family, police ask public for help to end ‘nightmare’ and solve murder of Arlington man

The victim’s family and Arlington police spoke at a news conference Friday urging the public to come forward with any information about the unsolved Feb. 14 killing of a homeowner who was shot by a burglar.

Ali Ismail, 36, was fatally shot after pulling into his driveway in the 1400 block of Prentice Street as he was coming home from work early on the morning of Feb. 14. He was a father to six children with one on the way and owned a trucking company, Panda Logistics.

“We’re standing here today with his family because they deserve answers, “ said Tarrick McGuire, assistant police chief at the Arlington Police Department. “We’re also standing here because they deserve justice and we will work together with this community to ensure that they get the justice that they deserve. But to make that happen we not only need the media to assist us in this process, we also need those who are within our community.”

Police released surveillance video the day after Ismail was killed, showing two suspects walking on Prentice Street. In the video the men were seen pulling on door handles of multiple vehicles in the neighborhood in an attempt to burglarize them, according to police.

One of the two men from the video is believed to have shot Ismail, according to police. Both suspects seen in the video are wanted.

“We want closure to this situation. The family is still shocked,” said Ismail’s cousin, Jamal Ali, at the press conference. “It’s a nightmare. Anyone who knows or sees anything, please reach out to the police and share with us any information you have to bring closure to this situation. This could be your son, this could be your father, this could be your husband, a nephew, a relative of yours. I want you to take a moment to imagine that you could be in that situation.”

“This killing was a shock to us. This hasn’t happened to us in this community, so as the first time we witness this, it’s really horrific,” said Osman Salat, a close family friend of Ismail. “You can imagine how the family is feeling. The loss of the father, the breadwinner, a husband. He was everything to them. Right now that family is without a father, somebody who cares for them, somebody who will take them to school every morning.”

Ismail’s trucking company had to pause operations, according to Ali.

“Not just the kids but even the community is impacted,” Ali said.

Salat, who knew Ismail for over 10 years, described Ismail as a “hard-working guy” who was “always doing the right thing.”

“As a community we are devastated and we share grief with the family and we would like the community and anybody else who knows anything about this killing or anyone with information to share it with the police department,” Salat said. “We appreciate the work the police department is doing. We hope that with the effort they are putting in, the time, everything, and the resources, we hope something will be found out pretty soon. And we are willing to help them. We want every father, every mother, every child in the community to be safe and we really feel that this family is without justice. We need to make sure we find the people who did this and the family can have a closure and move on with their life.”

In the three weeks since the shooting, “our homicide unit has worked diligently and tirelessly to identify suspects in this case,” McGuire said. “They have gone to surrounding neighborhoods, they have recanvassed areas, talking to citizens and those within the immediate area. Multiple times they have knocked on doors to seek additional information regarding this case, to try to locate any additional suspects or footage regarding this case.”

Police do not have video of where the suspects fled after trying to burglarize cars.

The surveillance video that Arlington police released does not provide a “great look” at the suspects’ faces, McGuire said at Friday’s conference.

“We continue to ask residents who live in the area to check their surveillance video and to provide any additional information to the police department, particularly during the times of 2 a.m. and 6 a.m. of February the 14th,” McGuire said..

Rain that morning affected the department’s ability to recover physical evidence from the cars that the suspects are believed to have touched, he said.

The police department has received “a handful of tips from the public” following the shooting but detectives have “exhausted those leads,” McGuire said.

Police said they have not received new tips within the last couple of weeks.

“We believe someone out there knows something. Not possibly just in the Arlington community but the entire Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex,” McGuire said. “We need them to do the right thing. We need them to step forward and help bring closure and justice to this family.”

“This case is a top priority for our police department,” he said. “We have been successful in the past with arresting persons that have been involved in that type of activity. This is behavior indicative of a property crime. Very seldom do you see a property crime result in a violent crime such as this where someone loses their life.”

Ali organized a GoFundMe to help cover debts and to provide financial support for Ismail’s wife and kids. The GoFundMe has raised $214,735 of a $300,000 goal.

“We’re coming together as a community to focus on one day at a time because the process is still shocking to everyone,” Ali said. “Right now we’re focusing on taking care of their bills, day-to-day stuff, but it’s going to be an ongoing process for us.”

Oak Farms Dairy is offering a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and successful prosecution of the person or people who shot Ismail.

Police are not aware of any case where there have been similar repeat offenses in the area near Prentice Street, according to McGuire. Police are continuing to closely patrol the area within a three- to four-mile radius.

Anyone with information about the suspects or the murder of Ismail can reach out to Detective Julia Hall at 817-459-5325 or can remain anonymous by submitting information to Crime Stoppers at 817-459-8477.