Leaders of the Omar Mosque in Harvey, Louisiana, spent hours consoling Abdul-Jabbar's shocked former teammates before going to his uncle's house to process what happened, Abu Khader said.
“Are you sure he's dead?” Abu Khader narrated that one of the students asked. “Are you sure this is Tawfiq?”
The US State Department confirmed the death of an American civilian on Friday, although it said it was still investigating the circumstances of the death in the West Bank.
The Israeli police said that the incident occurred between an off-duty officer, a soldier, and a civilian, and that it was conducting a comprehensive investigation. The Israeli police media office said in an unsigned statement that gunfire was reported after what appeared to be “stone-throwing activities.”
The Washington Post was unable to immediately confirm the circumstances of what happened.
Abdul-Jabbar had attended high school in the New Orleans area and was a member of the Omar Mosque, according to Abu Khader. The teenager had moved between public school and the Gretna Islamic School affiliated with the Mosque Academy, where he spent his sophomore and middle school years.
“The news has destroyed the entire community and our mosque,” Abu Khader told the newspaper.
He criticized the Biden administration for its support of Israel's war against Hamas, which the Gaza Health Ministry said has killed about 25,000 people there after Hamas militants killed about 1,200 people in an October 7 attack on Israel. In the West Bank, Israeli forces intensified their raids on Palestinians, destroying homes and displacing more than 1,200 people, the Washington Post reported last month. About 365 people have been killed in the West Bank since the start of the war, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, based in Ramallah.
Abu Khader called for an end to the fighting “so that all these children – whether Arabs, Muslims, Israelis, Jews, Christians – have the opportunity to live, to help society and be good citizens.”
Abdul-Jabbar was a second-generation American born in Louisiana, according to Abu Khader. He moved to the West Bank in May with his father, mother, and siblings to spend his final year in high school. Abu Khader said his family wanted the teen to better connect with his heritage and improve his Arabic language skills.
Abdul-Jabbar hoped to return to the United States and attend the University of New Orleans or a community college, perhaps to study business administration.
“He would come on Friday nights and play basketball with his teammates and friends,” Abu Khader said.
The mosque planned to hold a vigil Saturday evening with classmates and relatives, who learned of his death through news articles and other family members.
Andrew Jeong and Itai Stern contributed to this report.
