Jacksonville man sentenced to 25 years in wife's shooting

Dheyaa Mohammed, 36, pleaded guilty to attempted murder in August 2018 case

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A Jacksonville man who shot his estranged wife last year while she was walking their son to school has been sentenced to 25 years in prison.

Dheyaa Khaleel Mohammed Mohammed, 36, was sentenced May 29 after pleading guilty to a count of attempted first-degree murder in the shooting of Farah Al Gburi.

The shooting happened during a confrontation on the morning of Aug. 14, 2018, as Al Gburi was walking the couple’s son, Sam, to school on the city’s Southside, according to police.

Mohammed shot Al Gburi twice in the chest in front of their son and then took off. The 5-year-old boy was credited with saving his mother’s life by running to a stranger’s home for help.

“Um...um…my, my daddy shoot her in a gun,” the boy, who thought his mother had died, told a dispatcher during a harrowing 911 call. “Um, right there in the neck.”

While investigators were combing the shooting scene for evidence, Mohammed returned and began shouting that he had killed his wife. He was taken into custody and confessed.

Though paralyzed from the waist down, Al Gburi knows her son was the difference between life and death that day. And the two, who are remarkably close, know they have each other.

The incident also had a lasting impact on Sam, who is now six years old. He aspires to become a police officer, who puts “the bad guy in the jail,” he told News4Jax in a previous interview. A spokesperson for the family said the boy is preparing to start first grade in the fall.

The young boy was even recognized by Jacksonville Sheriff Mike Williams, who in February swore Sam in as a junior officer to the courage and calm he displayed in the wake of the shooting.

“He wants to be officer,” Al Gburi told News4Jax in March. “He always telling me, ‘Mom, I want to be officer!’ and I say, ‘OK, you will.’”

Al Gburi said she lost everything when Mohammed was arrested and was evicted from his apartment because her name was still on Mohammed's lease, damaging her credit history. Ten months later, Al Gburi has received money from the state's victim compensation and has enough to furnish a new apartment, get a new wheelchair and a customized car that she'll be able to drive with hand controls.