Pediatrician Talat Jehan Khan, 52, was fatally stabbed multiple times Saturday while sitting at a picnic table outside her Conroe, Texas, apartment, NBC News reported.
A suspect, 24-year-old Miles Fridrich, was arrested on a charge of first-degree murder after a brief foot chase after the 12:30 p.m. incident, per the outlet. Witnesses promptly rushed to aid Khan and provided descriptions of the assailant to police, according to NBC News.
Officers investigating the incident have not found evidence indicating the murder was a hate crime — Khan was a practicing Muslim of Pakistani descent — but are scrutinizing Fridrich’s social media and computers, NBC reported. Khan and Fridrich seemingly had no prior connection, per the outlet.
“So far, it’s appearing that this is completely random,” Police Sgt. David Dickinson said, the outlet noted. (RELATED: Landlord In Chicago Allegedly Stabbed 6-Year-Old To Death For Being Muslim)
Khan worked at Texas Children’s Pediatrics Conroe and leaves behind a 14-year-old daughter and a 23-year-old son, per NBC News.
Texas pediatrician, 52, is stabbed to death by knifeman, 24, who ‘came out of nowhere’ https://t.co/f5mHDZrUXE pic.twitter.com/62aTx8mE8q
— Daily Mail US (@DailyMail) October 30, 2023
“Her kids and her kids she looked after as a pediatrician were her entire life. Everything in her life revolved around those two things,” Wajahat Nyaz, the victim’s brother, told KPRC.
“We are unsure at this moment if this was a hate crime; however given the tragic circumstances, we are paying very close attention to the investigation,” the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) in Texas said, according to the report.
Fridrich is currently held in Montgomery County Jail, with bond set at $500,000. He has a criminal record involving traffic violations, drugs, and unlawful firearm possession, NBC News reported.
Tensions between Jews and Muslims have been high since Hamas Oct. 7 attack killed some 1,400 Israelis, prompting a response that Hamas authorities claim has killed thousands of Gazans.
Antisemitic threats have spiked, including an incident in which Cooper Union students at a pro-Palestine demonstration tried to breach a library while Jewish students huddled inside. On Oct. 14, 71-year-old Illinois landlord Joseph Czuba was arrested for stabbing a six-year-old Muslim boy to death. Czuba pleaded not guilty Monday to murder and hate crime charges.