Mark Stroman, 33, killed a Pakistani, an Indian, and grievously wounded a Bangladeshi in three separate incidents after September 2001. When a Dallas District Judge announced the verdict Stroman gave the judge a thumbs up, said he was proud of being a patriot and thanked the judge.

Bangla Patrika spoke to Raishuddin Bhuiyan, the survivor of Stroman’s killing spree, over the phone.

Bhuiyan, originally from Sylhet and an ex-officer of the Bangladeshi Air Force, was shot in the face and left for dead by Stroman.

Bhuiyan told Patrika that he worked at a gas station after moving to Dallas from New York in May 2001. He said that there was a lot of reaction in Texas to the attacks of September 11 on Washington and New York. On the afternoon of September 21 Bhuiyan saw Stroman shouting and rushing towards him with a shotgun. “I held up my cash box, but he kept coming at me like a snake with its head raised. He said something I did not understand and I said sorry. That’s when he shot me in the face.”

Bhuiyan fell down thinking he would die. After Stroman left, Bhuiyan crawled over to a nearby shop and sought help. He has lost the use of his right eye.

The two men who Stroman killed were Waqar Hassan, and Basudev Patel. Both were working in convenience stores when killed. Hassan leaves behind a wife and four children, and Patel, two children.

Stroman was caught and confessed three days into his trial. He said, in an interview with Fox TV, that he killed several people for the sake of the country and that he has done the duty of a patriot. He also confessed that he planned to attack a mosque before his arrest.

Defense Attorney Jim Oatman said that Stroman had met with white separatists after the incidents of September 11th and that he thought that one day Americans would respect him.