An American killing: Why did U.S. Park Police fatally shoot Bijan Ghaisar?
Bijan C. Ghaisar will spend eternity in a graveyard that predates the Civil War, in a remote plot dominated by a maple tree. There are families at rest here who were present for the founding of the nation. The Ghaisars did not know that Virginia. They came to the United States from Iran 40 years ago. That life ended on Nov. 17, 2017. Its outer forms remain, the handsomely decorated house at the end of a cul-de-sac, the professional achievements and affiliations. But the family has been emptied, like a building cleared before demolition. Only the shell still stands, rocked by regular gusts of anger, not only over the killing of Bijan by federal law enforcement agents, but by the official silence that has marked the last 12 months.
