In the late hours of a cold Saturday night in Detroit, Thair Dado, a 43-year-old man, was working his part-time job at the All Stars Beverage Liquor Store on West Chicago Boulevard. A devoted husband and a loving father to a teenage son, he was a hardworking man who had immigrated to the United States from Iraq a decade prior, seeking to build a new life for his family in Michigan.
Just before midnight on February 3, 2024, as he was taking out the trash, Dado noticed something wrong in
the parking lot. His own car, a red Hyundai, was being backed out of its spot by unknown individuals. Without hesitation, he moved to intervene, trying to stop the theft of his vehicle. As he approached his car, the passenger door swung open, and he was met with gunfire. The suspects shot him and then fled the scene in his stolen car, which was described as having heavy damage to the front end. Paramedics arrived to find Dado fatally wounded and he was pronounced dead at the scene.
In the wake of the tragedy, Thair Dado was remembered by his family as a man who was always there for everyone, a loving husband to his wife, Zina Francis, and an amazing father to their 16-year-old son, Steven. He had recently bought a new house and was working multiple jobs to provide for his family.
The suspects, described by police as being between 16 and 21 years old, remained at large following the incident. In an effort to bring the perpetrators to justice, Crime Stoppers and the Chaldean Community Foundation offered a $10,000 reward for any information that would lead to the arrest and conviction of those responsible for Thair Dado's murder. The community and his family were left to grieve the sudden and violent loss of a man who was simply trying to protect his property and his livelihood.
