Fadee Akhtab
March 23, 2007
Dallas, Texas

The Dallas Morning News
(Dallas, Texas)
March 23, 2007

Cab driver dies after being beaten, shot

11:56 PM CDT on Friday, March 23, 2007
From WFAA-TV Staff Reports

DALLAS - A taxi driver died Friday after two suspects beat and 
shot him, then drove off in his cab before setting it on fire.

The Dallas County medical examiner said the driver, 52-year-old 
Fadee Akhtab of Dallas, died at 6:25 a.m. at Baylor University 
Medical Center at Dallas. A cause of death was not available.

Police said they were looking for two men in connection with the 
incident, which occurred around 5:30 a.m. at Bonnie View and 
Overton roads in South Oak Cliff.

The suspects stole the cab, leaving the driver behind. Police 
found the burned-out cab several blocks away at the Royal Crest 
apartments at Illinois and Wilhurt avenues.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++

The Dallas Morning News
(Dallas, Texas)
March 27, 2007

Two accused of killing cab driver

05:11 PM CDT on Tuesday, March 27, 2007
From Staff Reports

Dallas police have arrested a man and a teen on accusations 
they beat, shot and left a cab driver to die.

Homicide detectives arrested Malcolm Isley Bullard, 18, and a 
16-year-old on Monday. The two face murder charges.

Fadee Akhtab, 52, a driver for Yellow Cab, was flagged down 
early Friday morning and attacked in the 3700 block of Bonnie 
View Road.

Mr. Akhtab was shot several times before being dragged from 
the vehicle, Dallas police said. The suspects went through his 
pockets and then fled in his cab.

Mr. Akhtab died from gunshot wounds later that day at Baylor 
University Medical Center.

His burned-out cab was discovered in a vacant field in the 3500 
block of Wilhurt Avenue about a mile from the attack.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Dallas Morning News
(Dallas, Texas)
April 9, 2007

Cabdriver death spurs march

Oak Cliff: Son, Islamic leaders rally residents to start fighting 
crime

12:00 AM CDT on Monday, April 9, 2007
By HOLLY YAN / The Dallas Morning News

Only a week had passed since the brutal homicide of his father, 
but already Fawwaz Akhtab was out marching on the streets of 
east Oak Cliff trying to make sure it wouldn't happen to anyone 
else.

"My father would always talk about community," the 26-year-old 
said during the recent parade against violence near Bonnie View 
and Overton roads. "If I can be a quarter of what my father was, 
I'll be OK."

Fadee Akhtab, 52, was killed in the early morning hours of March 
23 after two teenagers forced him out of his taxicab, shot him 
multiple times, ransacked his pockets and fled in his cab, police 
said. The cab was later found burned about a mile away.

Malcolm Isley Bullard, 18, and a 16-year-old youth have been 
charged with capital murder. Mr. Bullard declined to be 
interviewed from jail.

Sadly, Fawwaz Akhtab said, this kind of violence doesn't shock 
him.

"I'm not here to say, 'Why my father? Why him?' " he said. "Why 
not him? It could happen to anyone."

Mr. Akhtab, a father of five and grandfather of five, had just 
recently stopped driving 18-wheelers because he couldn't stand 
being away from his family for long periods of time.

He began driving taxis despite his wife's concern about his 
safety.

"All I could do is ask him not to drive in Oak Cliff," said his wife, 
Kathleen Abdul-Aziz. "But he said people in Oak Cliff need cab 
service, too. And he was glad to provide it."

She last saw her husband about 5 a.m. the day he died.

"He got called that morning for someone that needed a ride, so 
he left," Ms. Abdul-Aziz said.

Police said Mr. Akhtab was called to the area where he was shot 
and robbed.

"During the investigation, on that information, that led us 
subsequently to the suspects involved," said Dallas police Sgt. 
Richard Wilson. "Everything we've done has shown that there 
are two suspects involved."

Ms. Abdul-Aziz said the senseless killing and the ages of the 
suspects are indicative of a greater social ill.

"Young people in this country ... God has been replaced by 
money," she said. "Money is now the God - even if it's a small 
amount. Money is the thing that is highly regarded, not human 
life. I think we need a higher standard of human conduct. We 
need to be taught a higher standard of human conduct."

Sick of murder rate

After the slaying of one of their brothers, local Islamic leaders 
gathered to find a way to put an end to such violence in the 
community. They decided to rally residents in crime-ridden 
apartment complexes to start fighting crime from the ground up.

"We are sick of black-on-black crime," Imam Khalid Shaheed 
shouted from a megaphone as about 12 marchers moved 
through the east Oak Cliff neighborhood on the last day of 
March. "We're sick of the murder rate. We're here to address 
that."

The men who marched also offered refreshments and echoed 
sayings such as, "Drugs are slavery" to apartment complex 
residents drawn to the march. Various signs popped up from the 
group: "Stop the killing," "Stop the violence" and "Muslims 
against crime."

Abu-Masir said he's also sick of negative generalizations about 
Muslims and Islamic leaders.

"The vast 1.2 billion Muslims are not blowing things up," he said. 
"Muslims are misrepresented." He added that many peace-
seeking Muslims are now being "low-key" and not speaking out 
against problems for fear of ridicule or mistreatment.

But the marchers said they would continue their mission and 
invite other community members to join them.

Drive-by support

As the men were walking down Bonnie View Road, a woman 
drove by and offered her support.

"You need to do that up and down this block," she yelled from 
her car.

Members of the various area Muslim congregations said they 
hope to work with others to start crime-watch groups and instill 
better values within families. They also hope to have meetings 
with the police and intend to travel to different crime-infested 
neighborhoods to do the same.

"To allow our community to degenerate is a crime itself," said 
Mustafaa Carroll of Dallas Muslim congregation Masjid Al-Islam. 
"We can't just watch the statistics grow and not do anything 
about it."

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