On the night of February 18, 2018, 34-year-old Allen Saka was fatally shot in the driveway of his Phoenix home near 51st Avenue and Thunderbird Road. Saka, an Iraqi man who had moved his family to the United States five years earlier, was alerted by a suspicious noise around 10:30 p.m. and went outside to investigate. His wife, hearing gunfire, and their 4-year-old son witnessed the shooting. Paramedics transported Saka to a nearby hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Investigators believe the shooter may have been attempting to break into Saka’s truck; the vehicle’s back window was found smashed. Saka’s wife described the shooter only as a man and could not provide a detailed description because of the darkness. Friends and family said Saka had no known enemies and was a peaceful man.

Anyone who was in the area that night or has information about the smashed truck or the person seen near 51st Avenue and Thunderbird Road is asked to come forward.