By Zaynab Aden
Muslim Link Contributing Writer
On April 27, 2008 in the early hours of Sunday morning two groups clashed in the Baileys Crossroads area of Fairfax, VA. By the time police arrived at the 3700 block of Powell Lane in Falls Church, two bodies lay in the street with life threatening injuries. Both were rushed to Inova Fairfax Hospital. One young man, whose name the authorities cannot disclose, was in critical condition, the other young man, Muslim youth Harbi Burhan Adam, was pronounced dead at the hospital.
Adam, 18, was a senior at J.E.B. Stuart High school just weeks shy of his graduation. Upon hearing the news Monday morning, neighbors and especially the Stuart community were stunned into silence. For such a tight knit community the loss was unbelievable, his empty seat in his classes served as a stinging reminder that the tragedy was all too real.
Harbi, affectionately known as “Big Smiles”, was friends with everyone. No one could guess that as a transfer student to J.E.B. Stuart, he has been a student at Stuart for only half of his high school career. Time and again his disarming smile, quiet charm, and shy yet confident nature came up as people shared their memories of him.
Crowds of people surrounded the funeral home where Harbi lay with dozens more inside, classmates, friends, family and school administrators all under one roof to honor the memory of their, son, student, brother and friend.
The funeral prayer of Harbi Adam’s reflected the diversity of the Northern VA area, and subsequently the student body at J.E.B. Stuart High School named the most diverse school in the country. The Dar Al Hijrah mosque located off of Leesburg Pike was filled with students and mourners of all ethnicities and religions, together to pay final respects to Harbi.
Fairfax County immediately launched an investigation and as of Monday, May 5 following an exhaustive search, the United States Marshals Service arrested Joshua S. Puryear 21, of Manassas. Puryear was arrested in Washington DC, where he is being held awaiting transfer to Fairfax County.
Despite the arrest, barely two weeks have gone by and a community is still reeling, and a family is fractured forever with the loss of their young son. Survived by his mother, father, two brothers and his sister, his family will forever mourn their soon to be graduate.
This past Monday a memorial was held at J.E.B. Stuart High School where his family, friends and teachers gathered to watch a heart wrenching video his fellow production class members put together in his honor.
Mr. Holcombe, a popular history teacher at Stuart, taught Harbi and was one of his favorite teachers.
Sitting in Harbi’s history class the first thing Mr. Holcolmbe points to is an 8x11 poster with Harbi’s name emblazoned in the middle surrounded by written condolences from his classmates. He points to where it is, displayed prominently on the bulletin board because “Harbi holds a prominent place in our hearts”
He looked wistful as he recalled Harbi always sat in the back of the classroom, was very quiet and very relaxed. “Lowkey” was the word that continued to come up to describe Harbi. One of the endearing memories Mr. Holcolmbe shared of Harbi is his charm, when confronted with a question and he was unsure of the answer, he would ask the other students if they had any questions.
Mr. Holcombe and Harbi developed a relationship and Harbi would often be found walking with his history teacher in the halls or hanging out in his classroom. Many are finding it hard to cope and this is a very difficult time, but Mr. Holcolmbe has his own way of coping. “People live on through other people’s memory; it’s as simple as that.”
Anyone with information is asked to contact Crime Solvers by phone at 1-866-411-TIPS/8477, e-mail at www.fairfaxcrimesolvers.org or text “TIP187” plus your message to CRIMES/274637 or call Fairfax County Police at 703-691-2131.
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