Moments after he He allegedly shot and seriously injured a fellow father Picking up from school, Noureddine Dib, 42, slowed down enough to pat a nearby boy on the head. He then pursued the father he is accused of trying to kill.

In Multnomah County Circuit Court on Friday, a prosecutor focused on this encounter in the parking lot of the Portland Islamic School, pausing surveillance footage to argue that Dib, who is charged with attempted second-degree murder and first degree assault in the October 17 shootingHe didn’t stop to think about what he was doing in front of the children.

“The presence of children was not enough for Mr. Dib to second-guess his actions that day, to reconsider what he was about to do,” said Deputy District Attorney Eric Palmer, who asked a judge to deny him bail. to Dib.

Whether that would be appropriate was the topic of Friday’s hearing.

Palmer argued that Dib is a danger to the other parent. Michael Zakarneh, 48 years oldwho appeared in court with his family wearing a cast on his right foot and using a walker. Dib’s defense attorney, Grant Cole, disputed that, saying Dib should be released from the Multnomah County Jail pending trial given that he has no criminal record and that those close to him describe him as kind, generous and peaceful.

At least 30 people filled the courtroom in support of Dib, including his wife. Only in court was Zakarneh’s family, who said in court that he was pressured by the Muslim community linked to his mosque and his children’s school not to testify.

When asked what would happen if Dib were released, Zakarneh said Dib would look for him “if he wanted to,” or he could harm someone else.

‘It almost ended someone’s life’

In court, Zakarneh described three previous encounters he said he had with Dib.

On the first occasion, Zakarneh was dropping off his children at the private school in southwest Portland in the tow truck he used for work when he passed a man in a car who was yelling at him about his tow truck. He said he later discovered the man was Dib.

A week later, Zakarneh greeted him in Arabic, saying Assalamu Alaikum, and touched his lips and forehead. Later, he said, Dib approached him and questioned the greeting before saying, “if you think you’re a big guy, I’ll pick you up right now.”

The day before the shooting, Dib gave Zakarneh the middle finger in front of his children, Zakarneh testified.

Video footage of the shooting showed Zakarneh approaching the person identified by police as Dib in the school parking lot. He told the court he hoped to make amends with Dib and let him know his actions were inappropriate.

According to his testimony, Dib later told Zakarneh to “get that (expletive) off my face.” Dib then slammed the door of his sedan, the footage showed, and the man police identified as Dib pulled out a gun and shot Zakarneh.

Zakarneh then ran toward the school’s exterior stairs, according to the footage. He jumped down the steps before falling, injuring his foot and then fleeing to a nearby gas station. Later, Dib briefly hid inside the school.

Zakarneh said Dib fired four shots, twice at him in the parking lot and twice into the air at the top of the stairs.

“Not only did it cause a serious injury, but it almost took someone’s life,” Palmer said. “That was his wish that day.”

Portland Police Detective Sara Clark, who investigated the shooting, testified that representatives from the mosque adjacent to the school had asked Dib not to bring firearms there. Police recovered a 9mm handgun, two magazines and a knife inside the school after the shooting, he said.

‘Holding on’ to previous situations

More than 40 people, including the school principal and leaders of the adjacent mosque, submitted letters to the court requesting that Dib be granted bail.

Dib has three young children and his wife called him an involved father who took his responsibilities and never posed a danger to anyone. Cole, his defense attorney, called prosecutors’ list of prior interactions with Zakarneh “greedy,” adding that Dib had a permit to carry a concealed weapon.

“This is a situation where a person has absolutely no criminal history, has never been charged with a prior crime, was legally carrying a gun, and the state has presented evidence about some prior exchanges that seemed heated, and which culminated in a situation. Cole said.

Multnomah County Circuit Judge Henry Kantor questioned how he should evaluate the letters, since they did not address the shooting or what might have caused it.

“What weight should I give it when they don’t comment on what happened here?” asked.

He said he hoped to issue a written decision on bail before the weekend.

—Zaeem Shaikh covers the Portland Police Bureau and criminal justice issues for The Oregonian/OregonLive. Contact him at 503-221-4323, [email protected] or in X @zaeemshake.