The sister of the man accused of killing Harris County Pct. 4 Corporal Maher Husseini is describing her brother’s behavior and mental health struggles.
Athir Murady is accused shooting Cpl. Husseini multiple times while Husseini on his way to work in his personal SUV.
Murady was taken into custody hours later after being tracked to the Galveston area.
Suspect’s sister speaks out
KPRC 2 reporter Corley Peel spoke with the sister of Murady, who currently lives in Iraq. She says she is in total shock and never imagined her brother would ever be accused of something like this.
She said since Murady’s mother died a few years ago, he hasn’t been the same and has had mental health issues.
Just 10 days ago, Murady called his sister, telling her he feared the government was after him.
She said she just found out about the shooting a few hours ago, stating this was unusual behavior for him because he would never hurt an animal.
Murady’s sister said she is praying for Corporal Husseini’s family.
Corporal Husseini’s murder
Harris County Pct. 4 Deputy Constable Maher Husseini was on his way to work Tuesday around 12:45 p.m. and stopped at a red light at the intersection of Richmond and Fondren.
The gunman got out of his car, walked up to Husseini’s SUV and shot him multiple times according to witnesses and Houston police. A police source told KPRC 2′s Robert Arnold that the gunman then went back to his car, reloaded and returned, shooting at Husseini a second time.
Police say Athir S. Murady, the suspect, drove to Galveston. He was spotted driving his car into the water near the causeway. He got out of his car, continued to evade police in the water, though he was never out of sight of officers.
Murady was safely brought aboard a boat by law enforcement. Combative, officers say Murady continued to resist arrest.
The suspect was transferred to the Galveston County jail Wednesday night after being treated for injuries in the hospital, including at least one bite by a police K9.
Galveston prosecutors are charging Murady with evading arrest and requesting that no bail be granted.
He will then be extradited to Harris County to face murder charges.