09/17/2026
🚨 UPDATE September 23rd 2026 🚨: Following an expedited review by the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor’s Office and the Self-Defense Board, the murder complaint against Ameen Farraj has been dismissed, and he is being immediately released from custody.
We are grateful for the support shown to Ameen and his family throughout this process, and proud of the work our team at The Elkhatib Law Office put in to help bring this result about.
Ameen is going home.
STATEMENT ON BEHALF OF AMEEN FARRAJ
The public has now seen the headline that Ameen has been charged with murder. What that headline does not tell you is what happened inside that home before Ameen ever fired a weapon.
AMEEN WAS TRYING TO PROTECT HIS FAMILY.
Based on the facts presently known to the defense, Ameen’s brother, Abdallah, had a longstanding history of violent and verbally abusive behavior toward members of his own family and had suffered from serious mental-health issues, including schizophrenia. Abdallah was approximately 6’4” and nearly 300 pounds, substantially larger than the other family members inside the home.
On the day of this tragedy, Abdallah threatened and verbally confronted members of the family before violently attacking his own mother.
He struck her with such force that she fell to the floor unconscious. She later required treatment in the intensive care unit for a brain bleed. This is a woman who was already fighting breast cancer.
Ameen was upstairs when he heard the terrified screams of his sister and cousin. Knowing his brother’s history of violence, he ran downstairs to protect them.
What he encountered was something no son should ever have to see: his mother lying unconscious on the floor, appearing lifeless, while his sister and cousin screamed in fear.
AMEEN TOLD ABDALLAH TO LEAVE.
He did not.
Instead, according to the defense’s account of what occurred, Abdallah charged toward Ameen.
Ameen fired one shot, striking Abdallah in the abdomen.
What happened next is also important.
Ameen did not run. He did not attempt to conceal what happened. He immediately called 911. He then tried to administer CPR to his brother while simultaneously attempting to care for his unconscious mother until police and emergency personnel arrived.
This was NOT an act of murder.
This was a young man confronted with an immediate and terrifying situation involving a much larger individual who had just violently assaulted their mother and was threatening other members of the family.
Had Ameen not intervened, there is a very real concern that his mother, sister, cousin—or Ameen himself, could have suffered even greater harm.
The death of Abdallah is a tragedy for this entire family. Nothing about this case changes that. A family has lost a son and a brother, while another son now faces the possibility of losing his freedom because of what he did in an effort to protect the people he loved.
A criminal charge is an accusation. It is not a conviction, and it does not tell the entire story.
Our office now represents Ameen, and we intend to vigorously defend him. We believe the complete facts and circumstances surrounding this incident matter, and we will ensure that they are heard.
We will pursue the dismissal of these charges because the evidence must be evaluated in the context of what Ameen was facing in those critical moments. If the State nevertheless chooses to prosecute this case through trial, we will present the full evidence to a jury and pursue an acquittal.
WE ARE PREPARED TO FIGHT THIS CASE AT EVERY STAGE.
Our objective is clear: dismissal or acquittal.
Ameen should not lose his freedom for acting to protect his mother, his sister, his cousin, and himself from what he reasonably believed was an immediate threat of serious harm.
The headline may say “murder.”
The evidence will tell the full story.
Attorney Issa Elkhatib
Defense Counsel for Ameen Farraj
