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Teen whose family sought new life in America shot dead in Syracuse: ‘He was just a kid’

Syracuse, N.Y. — Dostdar Ali Khel and his family moved to the United States in 2017 from Afghanistan to start a new life.
They were escaping the violence of that country after Dostdar’s father was killed in a bombing.
Dostdar’s mom and her nine children made their home in Syracuse.
On Oct. 7, Dostdar, 16, was shot and killed at a friend’s home on the North Side.
“He was just a kid,” said Jameel Ali Khel, 23, his oldest brother. “It’s too young. For that age, to die like that, it is too hard.”
A 13-year-old boy has been charged with manslaughter. It is still unclear if the shooting was intentional or an accident. The boy has not been identified and police have released few details.
After a police investigation, the boy could face more serious murder charges, County Attorney Bob Durr told Syracuse.com | The Post-Standard.
Dostdar, a sophomore at Henninger High School., was always smiling, several friends said. He loved spending time with his friends, they said.
He liked to play soccer, and he could spend all night playing Fortnite with them, they said.
He had dreams of going to college and one day making enough money to take care of his family, said Poe Lay, a friend. Dostdar was the youngest boy of nine children.
“He wanted to make his mom proud; he wanted to make his family proud,” Poe said.
A group of Dostdar’s friends and his girlfriend, Berry Nanthaw, 15, gathered after his funeral service last Wednesday to talk with Syracuse.com | The Post-Standard about the friend they lost.
To them, Dostdar went by “Star,” and he was all smiles.
“The first time I saw him, his smile just grabbed my heart,” Berry said.
It was only a few hours after the shooting, while inside a Nottingham High School bathroom stall, Berry was told by a mutual friend that Dostdar had died.
“My heart sank,” she said. “I genuinely didn’t know what to say, how to feel. I just started crying.”
The two started dating in January but have known each other since they both were students at Salem Hyde Elementary School, she said.
“I could talk to him about whatever, whoever, and he would listen to me and talk me through it,” Berry said. “He was just very genuine. He was such a kind guy, like the way he was as a person really just makes me love him a lot.”
Dostdar would make sure to hug his friends and even say “I love you” at the end of a phone call even though he was teased about it, his friends said.
Poe, who is the same age as Dostdar, said when he first heard his friend was dead, he didn’t believe it.
“The world doesn’t feel the same without him,” Poe said.
About 100 friends, family members and a few of Dostdar’s teachers gathered last week for a vigil outside the home at 309 Herbert St. where Dostdar died.
A song made by friends was played in tribute to his life as they lit candles and released balloons. Some reeved up cars, burning rubber in the street. Some retold stories about how they met him.
Dostdar was special, said Carlos McArthur Jr., a Spanish teacher at Henninger High School.
McArthur didn’t have Dostdar as a student this year, but was his teacher in 7th and 8th grade. During class, Dostdar couldn’t help but crack jokes and laugh, he said.
“He was the life of the classroom,” McArthur said. “He’s been through a lot, and you’d never see him sad, never see him down. He never wanted to talk about nothing bad. He always kept his head up.”
Dostdar had been working on improving his attendance, his teacher and friends said.
On the day Dostdar died, his mother had dropped him off at school, his brother said. Berry said he texted her that he wasn’t feeling well and later decided to go to a friend’s house.
Dostdar died in the home of a friend, his brother said. On countless occasions, Khel had picked up Dostdar and his friend from Schiller Park after playing soccer and would drop the boys off at the home.
He said he was not sure if the boy who lived in the home was the 13-year-old accused of shooting Dostdar.
Dostdar’s mother, Maliha Khel, and her nine children arrived in Syracuse from Afghanistan, via a refugee camp in Pakistan, in March 2017, according to an article then by Holy Cross Church of DeWitt.
His mom had decided to move her children to America after her husband was killed by a bomb in their hometown, according to the church article. One of Dostdar’s sisters witnessed the bombing, the article said.
Catholic Charities and the church helped the family when they arrived in Syracuse.
On Wednesday, family and friends gathered at the Islamic Society of Central NY for a funeral service.
Dostdar is now buried in the mosque’s cemetery.
Staff writer Timia Cobb covers breaking news. Have a tip, a story idea, a question or a comment? You can reach her at [email protected].

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