U.S. Afghan interpreter killed working as D.C. rideshare driver

A father of four who worked as an interpreter for U.S. special forces in Afghanistan before fleeing the country for safety in America was fatally shot while working as a rideshare driver in Washington, D.C. this week, relatives and authorities said.

The Metropolitan Police Department said it was looking for suspects in the fatal shooting Monday of a man identified as 31-year-old Nasrat Ahmad Yar, of Alexandria, Virginia.

Officers were initially called for reports of an unconscious person just after 12 a.m. that day. When they arrived, they found Ahmad Yar inside a vehicle with at least one gunshot found, police said. The 31-year-old was taken to a hospital, but was pronounced dead “after all life-saving efforts failed,” police said.

Relatives of Ahmad Yar told NBC Washington that he was a father of four who had risked his life working with U.S. special forces in Afghanistan for a decade.

“He was alongside shoulder to shoulder helping American soldiers,” said his cousin Mohammad Ahmadi. 

After U.S. forces pulled out of Afghanistan in 2021, Ahmad Yar went on the run and eventually made it to the U.S.

“Then he came here. He was so happy,” Rahim Amini, described as his best friend, told the outlet.

Ahmad Yar had initially started his life in the U.S. in Philadelphia but he felt it was too dangerous, so he moved to Northern Virginia, NBC Washington reported.

“He came to America to be safe, but his dream was really for his kids,” said Jeramie Malone, who helps special visa holders from Afghanistan resettle in the U.S. “He always said he wanted them to have a good education. He wanted them to have opportunities.”

Ahmad Yar and Amini, who was also an interpreter, bought cars and became ride-share drivers in the U.S., according to NBC Washington.

Malone said Ahmad Yar had been driving into the early hours of Monday because he needed to make a bit of extra money to pay his rent.

It was not clear what unfolded in the lead-up to the shooting. However, in security video shared by police, four people can be seen running from the scene. Police have asked anyone with information to come forward, with a $25,000 reward available to anyone who provides information that leads to an arrest and conviction.

“I was in shock, and the whole family, everyone’s in shock,” Ahmadi said. “The whole community is in shock.”

At least two fundraisers have been launched to try to help his widow and four children, with the youngest just 15 months old and the oldest being 13, according to NBC Washington. One of those fundraisers, which was launched by Malone, had raised almost $60,000 by early Friday.

A funeral service was expected to be held Saturday at the All Muslim Association of America Cemetery in Fredericksburg, the outlet reported.