Teen girl says father threatened her with 'honor killing' before allegedly trying to strangle her outside Washington state HS

A teen girl said her father threatened her with an "honor killing" before allegedly trying to strangle her outside a Washington state high school.

It all went down outside Timberline High in Lacey on Oct. 18, KOMO-TV reported. Lacey is a few minutes east of Olympia and just over an hour southwest of Seattle.

The girl’s mother, Zahraa Ali, also was grabbing at her daughter and choking her, KOMO said, citing court documents. Investigators told the station the girl’s father also punched her boyfriend.

The 17-year-old victim told investigators her father's "honor killing" threat came after she refused to go to another country for an arranged marriage with an older man, KOMO said, citing court records.

The station noted that she reportedly went to her school for help, which led to the confrontation outside the school.

Josh Wagner told KOMO he was driving with his family near the high school when he noticed what he thought was a group of kids fighting. But as Wagner jumped in to break it up, the station said he realized it was a man choking a girl.

“The dad was on his back, and his daughter was on top of him, and he had her in a choke hold,” Wagner explained to KOMO.

He added to the station that "it was pretty angering. I didn't know what was going on, why it was happening. All the kids were screaming, yelling.”

Court records state Ihsan Ali was choking his 17-year-old daughter “to the point where she had lost consciousness” as other students, including the girl’s boyfriend, tried to pull her away, KOMO reported.

“What I saw was the adult male had the teenager in a headlock, choking her from the back, so I removed his arm from her, and then she got up and ran with another kid, who [I] come to find out was her boyfriend, and she was the daughter of the adult male,” Wagner added to the station. “So then I just held him on the ground 'til the police arrived, and then [they] handcuffed him and searched him and then moved him to the police car.”

The girl’s mother, Zahraa Ali, also was grabbing at her daughter and choking her, KOMO said, citing court documents. Investigators told the station the girl’s father also punched her boyfriend.

Victor Barnes — whose son was one of the students trying to stop the attack — told the station that the girl's father punched his son "in the face" and then tried "to kill his daughter."

The girl soon got away and ran into the school screaming, “My dad was trying to kill me, he was trying to kill me,” which prompted a lockdown as school staff blocked the girl’s parents from getting to her, KOMO said, citing court documents.

The girl's parents were arrested and are facing criminal charges, including assault, attempted murder, and attempted kidnapping, the station said.

'A lot of these stories exist, a lot of these stories are out here, some aren’t able to be heard for whatever reason.'

The parents appeared in court Wednesday, the Chronicle reported — which then added the following additional details about the incident:

Court papers indicate the victim ran away from home the day before the attack and went to Timberline High School, where she was a former student, seeking help from staff. A counselor was assisting her with finding a room at Safe Haven and the victim planned to take a city bus there after school got out but was allegedly pulled off the bus by her father.

The mother's bail is set at $500,000; the father's bail is set at $1 million, the Chronicle noted, adding that both parents are in custody at the Thurston County jail. Their next hearing is scheduled for 9 a.m. Dec. 4, the paper added.

“This isn’t right, and the more we continue to allow these types of actions to take place in a society where ... the climate is what it is right now, post-election, there's just no place for that type of activity anywhere,” Barnes told KOMO.

He added to the station that "a lot of these stories exist, a lot of these stories are out here, some aren’t able to be heard for whatever reason. I just want people to be aware these stories do exist.”

Barnes also told KOMO that issues with the Ali family had been going on for months — and a prior physical incident forced a temporary protection order against the mother, Zarhaa Ali. The station said court records indicate she also was banned from stepping upon school property after the prior incident.

KOMO reached out to the Department of Children, Youth, and Families to see if the agency is investigating the Ali family, but the station said it was told child welfare records are confidential.

You can view a video report here about the incident.

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