Sister Of Accused Terrorist Wrote Note Declaring To Take Revenge

TEMPLE TERRACE, FL — The Hillsborough County State Attorney's Office has concluded that Temple Terrace Police officers were justified in the fatal shooting of the sister of an accused terrorist in front of Temple Terrace City Hall May 29.

State attorney's office investigators said 21-year-old Hiba Momtaz Alazhari went to the Temple Terrace Police Department headquarters, located at city hall, and told the receptionist via intercom that she wanted to file a police report about an incident that had happened a few days before.

At 1:28 p.m., a male officer approached Alazhari who was sitting on a bench outside the police station wearing a hijab, the traditional headscarf worn by Muslim women. The officer spoke with her briefly. Alazhari indicated she had injuries from the incident she was reporting, so the responding officer call for a female officer to assist.

As they waited for the female officer, without warning, Alazhari pulled a lavender Cuisinart chef's knife from her purse and began swinging it at the male officer. The officer retreated for at least 20 seconds, shouting commands to drop the weapon, which can be heard on surveillance video outside the police station. Another officer, who was in the parking lot changing a tire, heard the shouts and ran to help.

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Despite several commands from both officers, Alazhari refused to drop the knife and continued to swing the knife at close range.

As Alazhari was once more “charging at the officer,” according to a witness, both officers fired four times total, shooting Alazhari. They immediately called for medical assistance.

Alazhari was taken to the hospital where she died.

According to investigators, the evidence suggests that Alazhari became distraught after the FBI arrested her brother, Muhammed Momtaz Al-Azhari, 23, the weekend before on charges of planning a terrorist attack in Tampa Bay on behalf of the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS).

Investigators said she plotted her attack in revenge. Searching through her discarded trash, investigators discovered pieces of a torn-up note, apparently written by Alazhari.

When investigators reassembled the note, it read: "…I want to do jihad and I must but all I see I [missing piece] do is take the kitchen [missing piece] and [missing piece] ttack the police…”

The Florida Department of Law Enforcement conducted the shooting investigation. State Attorney Andrew Warren and a senior assistant state attorney responded to the scene to assist in the investigation.

The state attorney's office independently reviews all incidents of deadly use of force involving law enforcement to determine is all guidelines were met.

"After our thorough analysis, we have determined that the facts and evidence of this incident prove that the law enforcement officers justifiably believed they were in fear of imminent death or great bodily harm when they used deadly force," said Warren in a news release. "They also did not have a duty to retreat, although the officers did make several attempts to back away and provide opportunities for Alazhari to put down the weapon."

Temple Terrace Police