HOUSTON — Hours after Arthir Murady was charged with murder in the shooting death of Harris County Precinct 4 Corporal Maher Husseini, a court document obtained by KHOU 11 reveals new details about the killing.
Corporal Husseini, 49, was gunned down in southwest Houston on his way to work on Tuesday, Sept. 5.
Galveston police arrested Murady, 40, a few hours later after he drove into Galveston Bay following a brief chase.
According to the court document, Husseini and Murady had a brief, "cordial" conversation in a parking lot on South Gessner near Richmond about 10 to 15 minutes before the shooting. Husseini's dashcam then showed them shaking hands before both men drove away.
Husseini was sitting at a stoplight on Richmond Avenue near Fondren about a mile away when his dashcam showed the gunman walk up to the driver's side of his Jaguar and open fire, shooting the victim multiple times. Then he walked to the passenger side and fired more shots. The medical examiner said Husseini was shot five times in the head and seven times in the upper body.
Witness and Flock license plate readers help track suspect's vehicle
A woman who witnessed the shooting said she noticed the gunman's gray Chevy Impala because it had a rusty bumper and the muffler was dragging.
Deanna Carraway told homicide detectives the gunman made eye contact with her after firing the first few shots and then she saw him walk to the other side and open fire again before driving away.
"I was feeling terrible, I was feeling scared, I thought he was going to come back and shoot me because I was a witness," Carraway told us. "This guy didn’t care about nobody’s life, he wasn’t concerned about anything, he had a very focused look like he was sent to do a job and he was going to complete that job."
She was able to provide a detailed description of the killer and his vehicle.
Based on the vehicle description from her and other witnesses, investigators used Flock license plate readers to determine it had a Michigan license plate. The Flock cameras tracked the vehicle to League City and nearby law enforcement agencies were advised to be on the lookout.
In an interview on Wednesday, Sgt. Nick Yeley with the Galveston City Marshal's Office told KHOU 11 that he spotted the vehicle on Broadway in Galveston and tried to follow it. He notified Galveston police, setting off the wild scene that ended in Murady's arrest after he was pulled from Galveston Bay.
“By chance, I happened to look over and I saw the exact vehicle that we were looking for down to the T, descriptors with the hubcaps missing and the sticker on the rear trunk and Michigan license plates. I said, 'Dad, I got to go,’” said Sgt. Nick Yeley with the Galveston Marhsal's Office. “And I tossed my phone and I grabbed my city phone and immediately contacted the Galveston Police Department."
Murady was charged with evading and remains in the Galveston County Jail. Now that he's also been charged with killing Husseini, he's expected to be moved to the Harris County Jail soon.
Victim and accused killer both licensed security guards
Documents obtained by KHOU 11 Investigates show a man with the same name as the suspect was licensed as an armed security officer and personal protection officer here in Texas. He also held a wide variety of security training certifications and appears to have operated a private security business here in Texas.
Along with his job with Precinct 4, Husseini owned a security company, according to his operations manager. Mustafa Abushalbak told us they had interactions with Murady about a year ago.
"He came to visit yeah because he tried to take business from us in Dallas and New Orleans," Abushalbak said. "He wanted to steal our business and came to apologize for it after. He apologized and he left one year ago. That's it."
On Wednesday, investigators met with the family of the corporal and his colleagues inside the business for hours.
Husseini's colleagues and friends are still trying to understand why this man would hurt the corporal, who they describe as a kind man who was always willing to help others.
"We are going to miss him forever. God will bless him, hopefully God will bless his soul," Abushalbak said.
A private funeral was held for Husseini on Thursday.