US Teen Charged With First-Degree Murder Of A Lyft Driver

On Friday, Washington D.C. police arrested a 15-year-old suspect and charged him with first-degree murder in connection with the July shooting death of Nasratullah Ahmad Yar, a former U.S. military interpreter. Yar, who emigrated from Afghanistan, was fatally shot while working as a Lyft driver in the Capitol Hill area, reported Washington Post. 

Nasrat Ahmad Yar, 31, a former interpreter for the U.S. Army Special Forces, fled Afghanistan with his family seeking safety in the United States. He was fatally shot in July 2023 while working as a Lyft driver in Washington, D.C. His death was one of many contributing to the city's historically high homicide rate that summer.

On Friday, authorities arrested a 15-year-old suspect in connection with Mr Yar's killing. Due to his age, he is charged as a juvenile. Police withheld details about his alleged involvement, including whether he fired the weapon, but identified him as a "primary suspect." They also indicated there may be additional suspects in the case.

"The reckless actions of these teens cost a man's life and shattered a family just starting on their journey in this country," said Leslie Parsons, assistant chief of the D.C. police Investigative Services Bureau. "No arrest will be able to make them whole, but today's message sends a message loud and clear to those looking to introduce guns on our streets."

According to police, Nasrat Ahmad Yar was in his black Toyota Highlander, parked a block south of Maryland Avenue NE in the Capitol Hill neighbourhood. He had just completed a ride for a passenger when he was approached by a group of teenagers.

The teens "may have been trying to take his vehicle," Mr Parsons said, and shot him in that interaction.

"You just killed him," one person can be heard saying in the footage.

Mateen Rahmati, Ahmad Yar's 33-year-old cousin, said that police notified his family Friday of an arrest in the case.

"This is a relief for the family in Afghanistan and his kids here," Rahmati said, adding that his relatives had been consistently asking when there would be an arrest. "He has to be punished for what he did."