Parents arrested outside of Washington school after alleged 'honor killing' attempt of their daughter

LACEY, WA - Two parents have been arrested and are facing criminal charges, including assault, attempted murder, and attempted kidnapping after several bystanders had to step in to stop a father from strangling his daughter outside of her school.

According to KOMO News, the incident happened outside Timberline High School on October 18th. The girl's parents, Ihsan and Zahraa Ali, were both arrested after the violent confrontation. Court records state that the incident could be related to a possible "honor killing."

According to court records, the 17-year-old victim told investigators that her father had recently been threatening her with an "honor killing" after she refused to go to another country for an arranged marriage with an older man.

She reportedly went to her school for help, which led to the confrontation outside. Josh Wagner, who saw the incident unfold, said, "The dad was on his back and his daughter was on top of him, and he had her in a choke hold." Wagner said he was driving with his family near the high school when he noticed what he thought was a group of kids fighting, but as he jumped in to break up the fight, he realized it was a man choking a teenage girl.

He said, "It was pretty angering. I didn't know what was going on, why it was happening. All the kids were screaming, yelling." Court records state that the father was choking his 17-year-old daughter "to the point where she had lost consciousness" as other students, including the girl's boyfriend, tried to pull her away. 

Wagner said, "What I saw was this adult male had the teenager in a headlock, choking her from the back. So, I removed his arm from her and then she got up and ran with another kid, who come to find out, was her boyfriend and she was the daughter of the adult male. So, then I just held him on the ground till the police arrived and then handcuffed him and search him and then moved him to the police car."

The girl's mother was also grabbing at the girl and choking her. Investigators said the girl's father also punched the boyfriend. Victor Barnes, whose son was on of the students trying to stop the attack said, "He proceeded to black out and punch my son in the face and proceeded to try to kill his daughter."

Court documents said that the girl eventually broke away and ran into the school screaming, "My dad was trying to kill me, he was trying to kill me," which prompted a lockdown as school staff blocked the girl's parents from getting to her. Barnes said, "This isn't right and the more we continue to allow these types of actions to take place in a society where that climate is what it is right now post-election, there's just no place for that type of activity anywhere."

He added, "A lot of these stories exist. A lot of these stories are out here. Some aren't able to be heard for whatever reason. I just want people to be aware these stories exist." Barnes said that the issues with the Ali family have been going on for months with one prior physical incident forcing them to get a temporary protection order against the mother. Court records also state that she was banned from stepping onto school property after that incident.

North Thurston Public Schools released a statement, saying, "We work with families, stall, and law enforcement partners to maintain safety and security on our campuses, and we take student and staff safety extremely seriously. When unique situations arise, we work with concerned parties to provide a safe learning environment, and we are doing so in this case." The victim's school reportedly helped connect the girl with a safe place to stay. The suspects are due back in court on November 20th for a pre-trial hearing.