The brother of two teenage girls who police believe were fatally shot by their father this week pleaded Thursday night for his father to surrender to authorities.
"I never thought this would happen," said Islam Said, 19. "Tell him to turn himself in."
Yaser Abdel Said, a 50-year-old cabdriver, is being sought in the deaths of Amina Yaser Said, 18, and Sarah Yaser Said, 17. The Lewisville High School students were found shot to death in a taxi at an Irving hotel Tuesday night.
Islam Said and his mother appeared at a candlelight vigil in honor of the girls outside the high school Thursday night. Dozens of students and teachers gathered around pink posters signed with messages for the girls, described as well-liked students who played tennis and soccer and excelled in Advanced Placement courses.
Mr. Said also disputed widespread rumors and media reports that his father's religion may have been part of the motive. There has been speculation that the slayings were an honor killing, a practice in some Muslim cultures where a man kills a female family member who is believed to have shamed the family.
"It's not religion," he said. "It's something else. Religion has nothing to do with it."
ELIZABETH M. CLAFFEY/DMN
Mary Said was surrounded by family and friends during a candlelight vigil for her daughters in front of Lewisville High School on Thursday.
Mr. Said declined to speak in detail about a possible motive.
Irving police spokesman David Tull said authorities are exploring all possible motives in the slayings, including that they may have been an honor killing. He acknowledged there had been some domestic issues in the family.
"We're well aware of the family dynamics," he said. "Everyone wants to know the motive. The only person that can really tell us is him."
Officer Tull said there had been no progress Thursday in locating Mr. Said but noted that federal authorities are participating in the manhunt.
"We've got a large net cast," he said.
Officer Tull said there's a possibility that the Egyptian-born man may have left the country.
"He's not a stranger to travel," he said.
Zohair Zaidi, a close friend of Sarah's, said Sarah told him their father had threatened harm to Amina recently when he discovered she had a boyfriend.
"Her dad has always been oppressive with her and her sister," said Mr. Zaidi, 18.
"She said that one day when she came home – the day he found out about Amina's boyfriend – he told Sarah, 'I'm going to put a bullet through Amina's head, and you better get used to her because she's not going to be around much longer.' "
One of the sisters called 911 from a cellphone around 7:30 p.m. Tuesday. She said she was dying, according to an Irving police report. Police traced the call to O'Connor Road and Riverside Drive, where police initially did not find the caller.
An hour later, police received another call about two unconscious females inside a taxi at a service entrance of the Omni Mandalay Hotel. Police located the vehicle and found the sisters.
"The victims' mother provided information that pointed to the victims' father as the suspect," the Irving police report said.
Cab driver sought in death of two daughters in Irving 
06:12 PM CST on Wednesday, January 2, 2008
By WENDY HUNDLEY and KIMBERLY DURNAN / The Dallas Morning News
The search continued Wednesday for a man accused of murdering his two teenage daughters and leaving their bodies in his taxi cab.
The Denton County Sheriff's SWAT team had surrounded a Lewisville home for hours Wednesday in search of Yaser Abdel Said, a 50-year-old cab driver, police said. Authorities entered the house about 4 p.m. to find it empty.
The bodies of Sarah Yaser Said, 17, and her sister Amina Yaser Said, 18, were found Tuesday evening in Irving inside a Jet Taxi vehicle that Mr. Said drove, Irving police spokesman David Tull said.
About 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Irving police received a 911 call from a woman whose only statement was that she "was dying," according to a police report. The line remained open and sounds could be heard, but investigators were unable to pinpoint a location from the caller.
Lewisville police said the call originated near O’Connor Road and Riverside Drive, and officers sent to the location were unable to find the victim. A police report said officers were also sent to the caller's home.
About an hour later, at the Omni Mandalay Hotel at Las Colinas, a taxi driver notified hotel staff about a suspicious vehicle in the taxi stand. Hotel staff checked out the vehicle and notified police, said Michael Vance, the hotel's general manager.
Police arrived at the taxi stand in the 200 block of Las Colinas Boulevard and found the bodies of the two Lewisville teens inside the vehicle. The sisters had been shot. It was unclear which sister made the 911 call.
The teens' mother provided information to police who then named Mr. Said as a suspect, the police report said. It was unclear what specific information the mother had provided.
Authorities have issued a capital murder arrest warrant for Mr. Said.
Mr. Said is described as about 6 feet, 2 inches tall and weighs about 180 pounds. He has black hair and brown eyes and was last seen wearing a black turtleneck shirt, a brown coat and tan pants. He is believed to have a handgun.
Jet Taxi operations manager Chris Petersen said he was unable to release any information but that the company was in contact with police.
Anyone with information should call Irving police at 972-721-2518.
Staff writers Jason Trahan and Emily Tsao contributed to this report.
