Murdered Ethiopian cab driver ‘always thought of others before himself’

ddaae3adAidarous Abdella, a 53-year-old taxi driver from Lilburn, picked up a fare early Sunday morning in DeKalb County. He dropped the female passenger off at her boyfriend’s home in Gwinnett and, when an argument ensued, attempted to intervene.

#He was killed in the melee, gunned down while trying to help someone in need.

#That’s the type of man he was, a family member told the Daily Post.

#”I loved him dearly and always pictured him being at my wedding someday,” niece Rawan Badr said Tuesday about Abdella, a native of Ethiopia. “What happened to him is tragic and he was an extremely nice human being and never thought of himself, he always thought of others before himself.

#”May he rest in peace.”

#According to Gwinnett County police spokesman Cpl. Edwin Ritter, Abdella delivered his female passenger to an apartment complex off Branch Drive in unincorporated Tucker at about 6:15 a.m. Sunday. She was met outside of the taxi by her boyfriend, 34-year-old Henok Haile Basore.

#The couple began arguing and Basore reportedly pulled out a gun.

#“The victim, Mr. Abdella, attempted to intervene between the two and was subsequently shot by (Basore), who fled the scene after the shooting,” Ritter said.

#Abdella was shot in the head and pronounced dead at the scene. It was unclear if he was deliberately targeted, if the gunshot was meant for the female or if the trigger was pulled on accident.

#“The precise details are still under investigation,” police spokesman Cpl. Jake Smith said, “but detectives believe the gun may have gone off during a struggle between all three.”

#Online records show Basore was booked into the Gwinnett County jail around 10:50 p.m. Sunday and charged with felony murder and aggravated assault. He is being held without bond. Police said the female passenger, 29-year-old Elizabeth MeKonnen, was also arrested in connection with the investigation and charged with false statements and obstruction.

#No further details were released.

#On a Facebook page which hadn’t been updated since 2012, Abdella described himself as a native of Dire Dawa, the second largest city in Ethiopia. A single man with an adult son living back in Africa, he spoke six different languages and practiced Islam.

#Badr called Abdella one of her “most beloved and favorite uncles,” saying her family had lived with him when they first moved to Atlanta.

#”It truly shatters my heart he passed that way,” she said, “and it shatters my heart what his family has gone through and is going through again.”

Source:gwinnettdailypost

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