(The Center Square) – Three Muslim men have been charged in connection to a shooting at a youth baseball complex in Katy, Texas, a suburb west of Houston.
Shots were fired into the Ameripark youth baseball field, known as “The Rac,” when a youth baseball tournament was being played. Video obtained by KPRC 2 NBC News shows adults and children running away from the fields; “12-year-old Texas Colts players in light blue jerseys [were] running frantically for cover as bullets flew past them,” the news outlet reported.
A 27-year-old coach was struck in the shoulder, taken to the hospital and released. He was saying a pregame prayer with the team and when shots were fired, got down on the ground and covered players with his body, KHOU 11 News reported.
Days after the shooting, the Waller County Sheriff’s Office announced three suspects were in custody: Mahmood Abdelsalam Rababah, 23; Ahmad Mawed, 21; and Mustafa Mohammad Matalgah, 27. None had U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detainer holds, according to county jail records.
Each were charged with deadly conduct, discharge of a firearm, a felony offense. Each were held on low $100,000 surety bonds; only Mawed’s bond remains active.
While some have characterized the shooting as “recreational” or “target shooting,” others have raised concerns about Islamic violence in Texas. Recent high profile arrests in Houston include members of the Iranian National Guard, and an ISIS-linked Houston man who was indicted for planning an 9/11 style terrorist attack, The Center Square reported.
The shooting also occurred after Gov. Greg Abbott ceremonially signed a bill into law this month to ban Sharia law and Sharia compounds in Texas. Sharia law is based on Islamic texts that prescribe civil and criminal laws and penalties for followers.
HB 4211, filed by Republicans state Rep. Candy Noble and state Sen. Bryan Hughes, passed the legislature in May with strong bipartisan support. It passed nearly unanimously in the Senate, 30-1, and by a vote of 110-26 in the House. Abbott signed it into law on June 20 and it became effective immediately.
At the ceremonial bill signing, Abbott reiterated his and the legislature’s commitment to opposing Sharia law in Texas while also supporting religious freedom. “Religious freedom is a central part of the Texas Constitution,” he said.
However, one issue prompting the need for the new law he said is “what’s called the right to contract,” referring to an Islamic community in north Texas called EPIC City.
Earlier this year, a promotional video was published on social media about a plan to build EPIC City in Josephine, Texas, in Collin County, by the East Plano Islamic Center (EPIC) and affiliated entities. It describes the community as bringing “Islam to the forefront.”
In response, Abbott said, “To be clear, Sharia law is not allowed in Texas. Nor are Sharia cities. Nor are ‘no go zones’ which this project seems to imply. Bottom line. The project as proposed in the video is not allowed in Texas.”
He later announced that more than a dozen state agencies launched investigations into EPIC and affiliated entities for potential violations of state law. The Texas Rangers and Office of Attorney General launched investigations into potential criminal activities. The U.S. Department of Justice also launched an investigation, which it dropped not soon after.
“Bad actors like EPIC and EPIC City tried to use religion as a form of segregation,” Abbott said. “We will ensure that we have the laws and law enforcement in place to prevent attempts to build such discriminatory compounds in the state of Texas.”
He also argued those building EPIC City “sought to create an entire ‘city’ open only to Muslims, subject anyone who lives there to Sharia law, and restrict a landowner’s ability to later sell property.” The new law “preserves religious freedom, a bedrock value of our great state,” he said, “while also protecting against efforts to forcibly impose Sharia law onto Texans.”
EPIC’s criminal defense attorney Dan Cogdell, who represented Attorney General Ken Paxton during his impeachment trial, maintains the investigations were politically motivated. He also says the development of EPIC City will move forward.
“Community Capital Partners is committed to building an inclusive community that follows the guidelines of the Fair Housing Act and we are glad the DOJ found that to be true in their investigation,” Cogdell said.
A trial date has yet to be set for the three men charged in the Katy baseball shooting.
