Arab-American murder victim was 'failed by system'
A Lebanese-American man who was shot dead outside his Tulsa, Oklahoma home on Friday evening was "failed by the system," the Tulsa County District Attorney said Tuesday.
Stanley Vernon Majors, 61, murdered his 37-year-old neighbour Khalid Jabara after years of racial abuse and while awaiting trial for running the victim’s mother over with his car, the victim’s family said.
The Jabara family lived in fear of Majors, who repeatedly attacked their ethnicity and perceived religion with slurs such as "dirty Arabs," "filthy Lebanese," "Aye-rabs," and "Mooslems," according to Victoria Jabara Williams, the victim's sister.
Police records show that Majors was charged with multiple felonies for striking Haifa Jabara with his vehicle in September.
Haifa Jabara sustained a broken shoulder, collapsed lung, broken ankle, broken nose, head trauma, and fractured ribs in the attack.
Majors was jailed for eight months and released on bail in May pending further charges despite objections from prosecutors.
Victoria Jabara Williams said her brother's death could have been prevented and Majors should not have been released to live next door to the Jabaras without police monitoring given his history.
The Washington Post reported that Majors was convicted in 2012 of assault with a deadly weapon and making "criminal threats" in San Bernardino County, California.
However, despite his criminal history and the more than 20 calls to the police about Majors made by the Jabara family since 2015, no action was taken against him.
"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," Williams wrote on Facebook after the attack.
Steve Kunzweiler, Tulsa County District Attorney said in a statement Tuesday that "Majors presented an obvious public safety risk and we made that argument to the Court."
"The [Jabara] family did everything they were supposed to do and the system failed them."
Stanley Majors is expected to be formally charged with first-degree murder this week.