Prosecutors said Michael Zakarneh escaped to a gas station after being shot near his children’s school.
PORTLAND, Ore. — Michael Zakarneh had gone to the Islamic School of Portland to pick up his children when another father shot him in the abdomen and chased him across school property, prosecutors said.
The details of Zakarneh’s escape became central to the case against Noureddine Dib, 43, who was sentenced May 7 to 12 years in prison. Prosecutors said Zakarneh ran from the parking lot, jumped down stairs and reached a nearby gas station, where bystanders gave aid and called 911. A Multnomah County jury convicted Dib in April of attempted murder and other crimes tied to the Oct. 17, 2024, shooting.
The case was not built only around the first shot. Prosecutors focused on what followed. They said Dib shot Zakarneh in the abdomen after a dispute during pickup, then continued after him while armed. As Zakarneh tried to flee toward the school, he leapt down a flight of stairs and shattered bones in his right ankle. Prosecutors said Dib fired in his direction at least once more. Zakarneh then made it away from the school grounds and to the gas station. The injuries, the flight and the location helped prosecutors argue for more than the minimum prison term.
The shooting happened shortly before students were expected to come outside. The Islamic School of Portland sits in Southwest Portland, where pickup traffic moves through a small lot and a narrow street. Deputy District Attorney Eric Palmer said that kind of setting could create tension among drivers, but he said the conflict here went far beyond a normal traffic dispute. Palmer said the shooting took place at “the last place an attempted murder should ever take place.” No official account reviewed for this story said a child was physically injured by gunfire.
Zakarneh and Dib had crossed paths before the shooting. Prosecutors said the fathers had a series of rude or disrespectful encounters, including a dispute weeks earlier over driving in the pickup and drop-off area. Law enforcement records cited in local reports said Dib made a threat before drawing the gun. Zakarneh responded that they were only talking, according to the account. Prosecutors said surveillance video showed Zakarneh trying to speak with Dib before the gunfire and then trying to escape after Dib opened fire. Dib’s defense centered on self-defense. His attorneys said Zakarneh had behaved aggressively in earlier encounters and had used mocking language. Dib called 911 after the shooting and said he was a peaceful person but that Zakarneh kept harassing him. Prosecutors said that statement did not match the physical evidence as they described it to jurors. They argued that Zakarneh was running away when Dib kept firing, which undercut the claim that the shooting was needed to stop an immediate threat.
The jury deliberated for about 12 hours before finding Dib guilty. The charges included attempted murder, assault in the first degree, assault in the second degree, unlawful use of a weapon, discharge of a firearm and reckless endangerment. The district attorney’s office said Palmer and Deputy District Attorney Stephany Mgbadigha handled the prosecution. In court, the state argued that bringing a loaded gun to a school pickup area and firing as another parent fled placed more than one person at risk.
Zakarneh’s family described the shooting as a lasting rupture. His daughter, Amineh Zakarneh, told local reporters after the attack that her father was everything a person would want in a parent and that nearly losing him was devastating for the family. She said relatives told her he had tried to talk before the situation escalated. Her comments added a family view to a case that was otherwise presented through video, court records, police work and legal arguments. Community shock also shaped the public account of the case. Amineh Zakarneh said the mosque was supposed to be a safe haven, a place where people felt loved and respected. Prosecutors later echoed that idea in legal terms, saying the school setting made the crime especially grave. The district attorney’s office said Detectives Sara Clark and Laurent Bonczijk were part of the investigation that led to the conviction. Police arrested Dib without incident after the shooting.
At sentencing, Palmer said the 12-year term fit the facts because it reflected both Zakarneh’s injuries and the danger of gunfire at a school. Prosecutors had asked for more than the 7.5-year minimum, citing the abdomen wound, the pursuit, the ankle injury and the additional shot. The court imposed the 12-year term more than a year and a half after the shooting and weeks after the jury’s verdict.
The available public record does not list another scheduled court date. Zakarneh survived, but prosecutors said the attack left him with serious injuries and his family with lasting fear. Dib’s criminal case now stands at the post-sentencing stage.
Author note: Last updated May 17, 2026.