Mark Anthony Stroman

Mark Anthony Stroman (October 13, 1969 – July 20, 2011)^[1] was an American neo-Nazi and spree killer who was executed in Texas for murder. In 2001, Stroman carried out a shooting spree in the aftermath of the September 11 attacks, killing two people and seriously injured a third. His motive for the shooting spree was "revenge" for the September 11 attacks, as he specifically targeted Arabs or people who looked "of Muslim descent." However, his victims were all from South Asia, with one of the two murder victims being Hindu.^[2]

Early life

Mark Anthony Stroman was born on October 13, 1969, in

On September 21, Stroman walked into a gas station in Dallas, where he encountered 28-year-old Rais Bhuiyan, a former Bangladeshi air force pilot who worked there as a cashier. Stroman pointed a double-barreled shotgun at Bhuiyan. Thinking it was an armed robbery, Bhuiyan began to empty the cash register, but Stroman instead asked Bhuiyan where he was from. Before Bhuiyan could give a proper answer, Stroman shot him once in the head. Bhuiyan fell to the floor and collapsed while Stroman left the store.^[5] Bhuiyan was left partially blinded in his right eye from the shooting.^[6]

On October 4, Stroman shot and killed 49-year-old Vasudev Patel, a

Stroman was captured on October 5. He said he had targeted Arabs in revenge for the 9/11 attacks. He claimed his sister died during the attacks, although court documents showed there was no evidence she ever existed.[9] He told police he was avenging the deaths of those who died on 9/11 and had targeted his victims specifically because they looked like people "of Muslim descent". At the time of his arrest, he told police he had done what every American wanted to and that they were at war.

On November 15, 2001, Stroman was charged with capital murder. On April 5, 2002, a jury found him guilty and he was

A year after the killings, Stroman expressed no remorse for his crimes. He wrote on his blog that what he did was not a crime of hate but an act of passion and patriotism. Up until his date of execution, Bhuiyan protested Stroman's death sentence, believing he did not deserve to be executed.^[11] Bhuiyan sued and tried to stop the execution but was unsuccessful. Bhuiyan argued that his Muslim beliefs told him to forgive Stroman and that killing him was not the solution.^[12] The courts denied his requests.^[13]

In his later years of imprisonment, Stroman expressed remorse for his crimes. After learning that Bhuiyan was appealing to save his life, Stroman changed his views, and described Bhuiyan as "an inspiring soul". His racist views were reportedly altered. He eventually spoke to Bhuiyan and thanked him for his compassion.^[14]

Stroman was executed on July 20, 2011, by lethal injection at the Huntsville Unit state prison in Huntsville, Texas.^[15] He was cremated and his ashes were scattered over the Grand Canyon.^[16]

In popular culture

In 2016, a documentary film called An Eye for an Eye was released by filmmaker Ilan Ziv. The film documents Stroman's path from revenge killer to being forgiven by his victims. The film features interviews with family members of the victims as well as Stroman himself prior to his execution.^[17]

See also

• List of people executed in Texas, 2010–2019
• List of people executed in the United States in 2011
• Murder of Balbir Singh Sodhi, hate crime victim who was murdered in revenge for 9/11
• Larme Price, serial killer whose motive was revenge for 9/11

References