The Life and Death of Shayan Mazroei
On the night of September 7, 2015, 22-year-old Iranian-American Shayan Mazroei was stabbed to death by a known white supremacist gang member. But his killer has not been charged with a hate crime.
The incident took place in Laguna Niguel and was covered by media in Southern California — never really receiving widespread national attention. Shayan was accosted in a bar after a woman began to berate him for a Farsi tattoo on his arm. The woman and Craig Tanber, a known white supremacist who was with her, were asked to leave the premises. Tambrr had recently gotten out of prison for his involvement in a murder and was a known member of hate group Public Enemy No 1.
Later in the night, after wafting for him outside of the bar, Tanber got in an altercation with Mazroei and stabbed him. He later died at the hospital.
Shayan’s parents urged the authorities to investigate their son’s death as a hate crime, but a prosecutor told local media that would make it more difficult to convict Tanber of murder.
Tanber was eventually charged with murder, but the Orance County District Attorney Tony Rackauckas did not change him with a hate crime. While hate crimes are hard to prove, there is plenty of evidence that would suggest the racial motivation in this instance. Meanwhile, Mazroei’s friends and family are left to mourn the extremely wrongful death of their only son.
