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Ten days after 9/11, a Bangladeshi immigrant stood behind the counter of a South Dallas convenience store.
"It was September 21, 2001," recalled Rais Bhuiyan calmly, letting his mind go back to the moment he faced death.
"A gunman entered the station where I was working," he said.
It was a large, angry man with a shotgun and a question.
"He asked me, 'Where are you from?'" Bhuiyan said. "I became nervous. I said, 'Excuse me?' As soon as I spoke, I feel the sensation of a million bees stinging my face and then heard an explosion."
The stings were actually hot gun pellets ripping his face.
Bhuiyan played dead and prayed silently for life as he lay on the floor with blood pooling around around him.
"Images of my mother, father, other siblings, my fiance appear before my eyes," he said of the pictures that flashed inside his mind. "Then a graveyard. I was so scared. Am I dying today?"
It's the kind of fear he believes the gunman must now feel as he faces his own death. The state will execute Mark Stroman July 20, unless something happens to stop it. In addition to shooting Bhuiyan, Stroman murdered Pakistani Waqar Hasan and Indian Vasudev Patel in apparent revenge for 9/11. Both were husbands and fathers.
But, Bhuiyan has launched a campaign to save Stroman, even though he said the man once proclaimed himself an "Arab slayer."
"Still, he didn't realize that killing someone can't be an answer for another killing," Bhuiyan said. "Killing is not a solution. Hate is not a solution."
He said he looked deep into his Muslim faith and received the blessing of the dead men's families.
He's trying to arrange a meeting with Stroman on death row.
"His attorney gave him the message that one of your victims is running this campaign to save your life," he said. "He was reduced to tears. He couldn't believe one of his victims would come forward and try to save his life."
Bhuiyan said thousands of people around the globe have signed the petition on his website WorldWithoutHate.org.
"He has a shot, but it's a long one," said Rick Halperin, an SMU history professor. "He runs the school's Embrey Human Rights Education Program. "It's a long one."
"It was pleasantly shocking to have a victim of a hate crime come forward and push to save the life of his attacker," Halperin said. "It's almost unheard of."
"I still have more than 35 pellets under my skin," he said as he felt the tiny bumps on his face.
The gun blast also blinded Bhuiyan's right eye.
But, he said he believes God saved him to become a messenger of peace and forgiveness, starting with the man who once appeared so proud to kill.
"It was September 21, 2001," recalled Rais Bhuiyan calmly, letting his mind go back to the moment he faced death.
"A gunman entered the station where I was working," he said.
It was a large, angry man with a shotgun and a question.
"He asked me, 'Where are you from?'" Bhuiyan said. "I became nervous. I said, 'Excuse me?' As soon as I spoke, I feel the sensation of a million bees stinging my face and then heard an explosion."
The stings were actually hot gun pellets ripping his face.
Bhuiyan played dead and prayed silently for life as he lay on the floor with blood pooling around around him.
"Images of my mother, father, other siblings, my fiance appear before my eyes," he said of the pictures that flashed inside his mind. "Then a graveyard. I was so scared. Am I dying today?"
It's the kind of fear he believes the gunman must now feel as he faces his own death. The state will execute Mark Stroman July 20, unless something happens to stop it. In addition to shooting Bhuiyan, Stroman murdered Pakistani Waqar Hasan and Indian Vasudev Patel in apparent revenge for 9/11. Both were husbands and fathers.
But, Bhuiyan has launched a campaign to save Stroman, even though he said the man once proclaimed himself an "Arab slayer."
"Still, he didn't realize that killing someone can't be an answer for another killing," Bhuiyan said. "Killing is not a solution. Hate is not a solution."
He said he looked deep into his Muslim faith and received the blessing of the dead men's families.
He's trying to arrange a meeting with Stroman on death row.
"His attorney gave him the message that one of your victims is running this campaign to save your life," he said. "He was reduced to tears. He couldn't believe one of his victims would come forward and try to save his life."
Bhuiyan said thousands of people around the globe have signed the petition on his website WorldWithoutHate.org.
"He has a shot, but it's a long one," said Rick Halperin, an SMU history professor. "He runs the school's Embrey Human Rights Education Program. "It's a long one."
"It was pleasantly shocking to have a victim of a hate crime come forward and push to save the life of his attacker," Halperin said. "It's almost unheard of."
"I still have more than 35 pellets under my skin," he said as he felt the tiny bumps on his face.
The gun blast also blinded Bhuiyan's right eye.
But, he said he believes God saved him to become a messenger of peace and forgiveness, starting with the man who once appeared so proud to kill.
And here is the so-called "Arab Slayer."
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