U.S. NEWS

Army veteran sentenced to 55 years in prison for road rage shooting death of Muslim man

Dustin Passarelli was convicted in May of murder and a felony firearm enhancement charge in the February 2019 shooting death of 32-year-old Mustafa Ayoubi.

June 23, 2023, 10:21 AM EDT / Source: Associated Press
By The Associated Press

A suburban Indianapolis Army veteran was sentenced to 55 years in prison Wednesday for the road rage shooting death of a Muslim man after witnesses said he hurled ethnic and religious insults at the victim.

Dustin Passarelli of Plainfield was convicted in May of murder and a felony firearm enhancement in the February 2019 shooting death of 32-year-old Mustafa Ayoubi.



Dustin Passarelli
Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department / AP

Passarelli followed Ayoubi off Interstate 465, and a verbal altercation took place, prosecutors said. Witnesses said Passarelli made several Islamophobic remarks, including “Go back to your country,” and used hate speech before opening fire.

Passarelli told police that Ayoubi either threw something at his car or collided with it on the highway and that after he followed Ayoubi to an apartment complex, Ayoubi broke one of Passarelli’s car windows with a punch. ... The defense argued that Passarelli was within his rights to fire at Ayoubi because it was self-defense.

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