BALTIMORE _ Khaled Heeba fled the most dangerous place on earth in 2016, escaping Syria's civil war with his parents and sister to come to the United States for a better life. He settled in Baltimore.
His sister, Therwa Hamza, became a professor in the microbiology department at the University of Maryland, while he went to work delivering pizzas full time to help support himself and his parents.
Heeba's American journey ended less than two weeks ago when someone gunned him down in broad daylight in Harlem Park _ less than five minutes from the pizza shop where he'd worked since he got to Baltimore. He was found in the 1300 block of W. Franklin St. around 1:15 p.m. Feb. 7 suffering from gunshot wounds to the chest. He died after being transported to a nearby hospital, police said.
"He left his own country because it was a war-zone in Syria, just for him to end up getting murdered here," said Theresa Birmingham, a co-worker. "He was just really a sweet guy. It's been 10 days (since his killing) and I still expect to see him walk in through the door."
Birminghan and Vicky Bailey said their friend and co-worker "was always a good person."
Police have made no arrests in the case, and his sister is waiting for an update from Baltimore Police. Hamza said she went to the shooting scene to see whether a nearby corner store, Yun's Grocery Store, had camera footage of the incident. She had no luck.
She hopes police can catch her brother's killer quickly.
"I'm sure a great country like this would do something. But I have to say, the violence has to stop," Hamza said. "It is really sad that someone would end the life of someone supportive of his family. That was Khaled's major goal."
According to Human Rights Watch 2016 annual report, Syrians like Hamza and Heeba were caught in the middle of a violent conflict between ISIS, offshoots of Al-Queda and the Syrian government. The groups were "responsible for systematic and widespread violations, including targeting civilians, kidnappings, and executions."
By the time their family was welcomed to the United States as refugees, more than 250,000 Syrians had been killed, nearly a million were under siege and millions more had fled or become displaced, according to Human Rights Watch.
The family landed in Maryland and quickly acclimated, his friends and sister said.
Birmingham and Bailey said Heeba's delivery hours fluctuated. He sometimes worked many hours during the day or at other times worked night delivery shifts, they said.
They fondly remembered how friendly he was, and how quick Heeba was to help his co-workers with whatever they needed.
Now, every Friday the business releases one balloon in the air in memory of Heeba, Birmingham said.
"He was real tall, so he could always reach stuff for me in here that I could not get to," Bailey said. "He always was always cheerful, always said good morning and would take you home at night if you just needed a ride."
Hamza said Heeba, 31, was on his last delivery route of the night, going along West Franklin Street before he was gunned down on the sidewalk. Heeba was planning to attend Friday prayer later that evening.
Heeba's family is collecting funds after his killing to honor his life by helping other Syrian refugees through LaunchGood, a crowdfunding platform tailored to members of the Muslim community.
Officers found Heeba suffering from a gunshot wound to the chest, and believe he was shot outside Yun's Grocery store, as blood stained the sidewalk just a few steps from the doorway.
As of Monday, there have been 43 homicides in Baltimore city _ that is 11 more killings than there were at this time last year, which saw 32 killings, according to Baltimore police data.
