Parking dispute: Texas gunman killed Afghan refugee; roamed free for 3 months before murder charge
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Katia Bougere, 31, is accused of murdering Abdul Rahman Waziri on 27 April as the former Afghan interpreter, who had worked with US forces, pulled over in the car park of his west Houston apartment complex to check his mail.
Bougere admitted at the scene that 'he was the shooter,' but told Houston police he had felt threatened at the time.
Initially, he claimed self-defence, and surveillance footage showed him calmly walking away from the scene, Waziri's brother Abdullah Khan previously told the New York Post.
Footage taken by KPRC also showed officers seizing Bougere's firearm and handcuffing him, but then releasing him. Despite video evidence and witness statements, the Harris County District Attorney's Office did not file charges at the time, stating it was 'still waiting on additional information from investigators before making a charging decision.'
That decision has finally come as Bougere was indicted by a grand jury this week, according to court documents.
Waziri's brother Khan welcomed the news but slammed the delay, 'They didn't look to all this evidence, and they just let the person walk free for months and months,' he said on Wednesday.
He recalled how the suspected killer, who wore dreadlocks, coldly walked past him the following day as he cleaned up his brother's blood.
The deadly shooting reportedly stemmed from a dispute over a parking spot. According to the family's account of surveillance footage, Bougere became agitated after pulling behind Waziri's car while he had stopped to check his post.
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Witnesses also saw Bougere vandalising Waziri's car prior to the confrontation, the family's lawyer Omar Khawaja had previously said.
Surveillance video showed someone's feet, believed to be Bougere's, rushing toward Waziri before pulling a gun and firing several rounds. Although the actual shooting wasn't captured due to a carport blocking the camera's view, footage showed the gunman walking away, then returning while on the phone, according to Waziri's family.
Police arrived to find Waziri's bullet-ridden body lying beside his white Toyota Camry.
'We came here to be safe, but here is also ridiculous. Someone could come and kill you just for not moving your car,' Khan previously said.
The killing has also sparked outrage among US veterans who served alongside Waziri.
Green Beret Ben Hoffman told The Post, 'Abdul Rahman was literally willing to lay down his life for us — for us, for Americans.'
Retired Special Forces Green Beret Chris Wells, who helped secure Waziri a special visa for aiding US troops, said, 'To have him come here and get shot to death over a parking spot' was 'completely disheartening.'
Bougere is due to appear in court on 5 August.
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