OAKLAND, Calif. (KRON) – A deadly house fire takes the lives of a father and his one-year-old daughter in East Oakland.
Police believe it is an act of arson that may be connected to a deadly shooting at an East Bay liquor store.
37-year-old Easm Musleh and his one-year-old daughter Alia were killed over the weekend trying to escape a fire inside their home on Stearns Avenue in East Oakland.
The incident is now the subject of a double homicide investigation as it appears the fire was intentionally set.
“It happens so frequently that it becomes a no-big-deal story to the media until something as tragic as this happens, where now the families are paying a price for something that happens in one of these inner-city stores,” Majed Moughni said.
Dearborn, Michigan Attorney Majed Moughni is a long-time advocate for the Arab Muslim community.
He says the father who died in the fire has connections to Dearborn and a member of a Muslim-American family who owns Bookers Liquor Store in East Oakland.
Bookers Liquor Store is also the location of a deadly shooting back on April 10th. followed by a fire a few days later.
“We believe that the homicide that happened on the 10th may be the nexus to all of these crimes,” Oakland Chief LeRonne Armstrong said.
Moughni says Muslim shop owners are common targets for violence but this is different.
“This is a new level. This is beyond acceptable. Where not only are you killing these clerks inside their place of business but now you’re taking it to their home. You’re taking it to their family. This is outrageous!” Moughni said.
The Oakland Police Department and CrimeStoppers are offering up to $40,000 for information leading to an arrest in this case.