(Reuters) - Dallas police are searching for four people suspected of fatally shooting a 36-year-old Iraqi immigrant who was hit in a volley of gunfire last week when he was outside getting his first sight of snow, officials said on Monday.
Police said the shooting of Ahmed al-Jumaili looks to be a random act of violence but Major Jeff Cotner added: "Until we get more information, we can't rule out the possibility of a hate crime."
Al-Jumaili had only been in Dallas for about three weeks to reunite with his wife when a snowfall just before midnight on March 4 drew him, his wife and his brother outside to observe and take pictures of the snow.
He died at an area hospital.
Surveillance video released by police show four men running away from a nearby apartment complex, with one man carrying a rifle.
The possibility that al-Jumaili might have been targeted has put Muslims on edge, said Alia Salem, executive director of the Dallas-Fort Worth chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, which has offered a $12,000 reward for information that identifies the killers.
"There is a lot of fear out there," Salem said.
"People are afraid to go outside or they are taking off their head scarves so they don't draw attention."
The Dallas shooting comes about a month after a gunman shot dead three young Muslims near the University of North Carolina, riling Muslim activists who have demanded that U.S. state and federal authorities investigate the suspect for possible hate crimes.
(Writing by Jon Herskovitz; Editing by Sandra Maler)
