Please take a moment to read about my friend Shayan

How my friend was killed by a white-supremacist

Long time lurker here and this is my first post so bear with me

Imgur I need your help. This is Shayan Mazroei, he’s a very close friend of mine. Like many of us he has his dreams and ambitions. When Shayan sets his mind to something he strives to achieve it! At only 22 years old he's starting his own car dealership in Laguna Niguel, California. With hopes of finishing college as a mechanical engineer!

VIDEO OF SHAYAN -- PLEASE WATCH https://www.youcaring.com/shayan-mazroei-foundation-448984

Shayan and I grew up together in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. His parents moved here from Iran just like mine and we immediately became close friends. As we got older our friendship became stronger. I was even there when he rescued his dog Simba as a pup.

After moving with his family from Oklahoma in 2013 to Laguna Niguel, California - an affluent community located between Los Angeles and San Diego – he would often to go Patsys' Irish Pub to play pool and make new friends. We still kept in touch and when he would come back to Oklahoma we'd go out for a few drinks. It was always so great to see him and we'd have a blast when he would visit.

My friends life was taken from not only me, but his friends and family by this coward

On September 7, 2015, Shayan was fatally stabbed in a racially-motivated attack outside of Patsy's Irish Pub in Laguna Niguel, California by Craig Tanber -- a known white supremacist, documented gang member, and convicted murderer. Tanber's girlfriend, Elizabeth Thornberg, allegedly instigated the fight, waited with Tanber outside to ambush Shayan, and helped them both escape. He has not been charged with a hate crime, and she has not been charged. At all.

Like most Americans over Labor Day weekend, Shayan savored his time away from work and his mechanical engineering studies. He went to Patsy's to shoot pool. He really loved playing pool. But on that night, Shayan was singled out by Craig Tanber and Elizabeth Thornberg. According to eyewitness accounts, the sequence of events leading to the fatal stabbing of Shayan began when Craig Tanber's girlfriend, Elizabeth Thornburg, noticed a tattoo on Shayan's forearm, which read عشق Eshgh, or "Love," in Farsi script, a language they didn't understand.

Several witnesses recall Thornburg instigating a confrontation between Tanber and Shayan, and heard her repeatedly yelling racial insults at him. She told Shayan that Iranian men treat "their women like garbage," that Shayan was "terrorist" and a "f*****g Iranian." Witnesses also saw Thornburg spitting in Shayan's face before he was stabbed to death by her boyfriend, Craig Tanber.

Thornberg allegedly waited outside for Shayan and made sure that whatever damage Tanber could inflict, he and she would run. She purportedly drove the getaway car and helped Tanber flee the scene. Yet, Elizabeth Thornburg remains free, continues working for the County of Orange, and has not been charged in connection with the murder of Shayan Mazroei.

Thornberg knew, from personal experience, the killer that she was about to set loose on Shayan. She knew that Tanber had been convicted of killing a man in 2004 with a claw hammer, along with other members of his White Supremacist gang.

At the time of the murder, 37-year-old Craig Tanber was out on parole stemming from the 2004 killing of 26 year old Cory Lamons, also from Laguna Niguel. Tanber was charged with murder, but during the trial an alternate juror Googled one of the co-defendants and shared the information with other jurors. A mistrial was declared. Instead of making Tanber stand trial for murder again, Orange County District Attorney's struck a plea deal with Tanber and decided to only charge him with manslaughter, dissuading a witness by force, street terrorism, and assault with a deadly weapon. Tanber was sentenced to 13 years in prison, but was released after only serving 6 years. Tanber also has prior convictions for a 2001 residential burglary. He had only been out of jail for less than 3 MONTHS before he killed my friend.

Tanber, the 37-year-old self-described white supremacist charged with murdering Shayan, also has a tattoo that speaks of his deep hatred. It reads, PEN1, which is short for "Public Enemy Number One." The gang started in Long Beach in the late 1980s, and its membership quickly grew, mainly in southern Orange County. The Southern Poverty Law Center described them “a hybrid racist skinhead street group and prison gang." The California Department of Justice reported that PEN1 engages in attacks on police officers, witness tampering, intimidation, and harassment, and is “one of the most powerful and fastest-growing gangs inside and outside prison." PEN1 now leads a coalition of white-supremacist groups called the Southern California Skinhead Alliance.

We're all at a loss for words and his parents are devastated. This should not have happened to a 22 year old kid who was just starting out his life. There's not a moment that goes by that I don't think about Shayan and what was taken from him and his family. It hurts my heart so much when I think of how he must have felt, what was going through his mind....He didn't deserve this. Nobody does http://ktla.com/2015/09/12/friends-loved-ones-gather-for-vigil-in-honor-of-man-fatally-stabbed-outside-laguna-niguel-pub/

Shayan was such a kind and caring guy. He would always be there when you needed him, and now that we need him he's gone. Taken from us. He leaves behind his loving mother and father, family, friends, and his girlfriend of 4 years, as well as his dog Simba that he loved so dearly. Shayan and his girlfriend had celebrated their 4 year anniversary just 3 days before he died.

All of us are in shock. We keep thinking and talking about what the loss of life really means. It's not just the end of Shayan's time here on earth. It's the end of a future he would have created, a career that would have flourished, a father he may have been to children that will never be. Loss of life is not as much about breath leaving the body -- but the beauty the world is robbed of for years to come.

Imgur, I know in the past you guys have grouped together to show support for many people and we need your help! We want Craig and Elizabeth to be held responsible for what they took from us. Currently the police department is not investigating the murder as a hate crime. We believe that it is because of the comments/remarks that Elizabeth made and Craigs affiliation with PEN1! It is important for Tanber & others to be charged with hate crimes because it's a crime enhancement. It could lead to the killer getting more time, and ultimately it needs to be recorded as such since it could lead to a larger institutional change. The truth needs to come out. We have multiple witnesses who heard the racial slurs themselves, yet their statements were missing information on the police report.

We are not seeking any revenge. Shayan is much more valuable than any revenge. When we say that this was a hate crime, it’s all about protecting all other children in the this country—it is all about making this country that Shayan loved and where he lived and died peaceful for everybody else. We need to identify things as they really are. Shayan was killed execution style. What happened to him was a hate crime and that’s why we need to call it a hate crime. That's the only way we can change things. It’s not about revenge, it’s about justice.

That's why we need YOU HELP in urging the District Attorney of Orange County Tony Rackauckas and Larry Yellin to immediately open an investigation into Elizabeth Thornburg’s involvement in Shayan’s murder and bring the appropriate criminal charges against her. In addition, We also urge the Department of Justice to further investigate this senseless killing and highly recommend charging both Tanber and Thornburg under federal hate crime statutes. So could you please take a second to sign the petition and like Shayans support page. I don't want my friends memory to fade, I don't want his death to mean nothing. PLEASE HELP US Imgur, please tell others about this story. We want justice for Shayan! Here's the link for you all to sign http://www.niacaction.org/justice4shayan
and here is our website http://justiceforshayan.com/how-you-can-help/

Who would think that at that stage in life, you would have to be worried about such a hateful act occurring on a warm night in September, at the end of a gorgeous summer, in an affluent and safe city like Laguna Niguel?

That's how hate works. It hides in plain sight. Even in the perfect beach city towns of South Orange County. Shayan was singled out because Craig Tanber and Elizabeth Thornberg hated that he was different from what they knew. Shayan's tattoo, which they abhorred, ironically said Eshgh, or "Love," in Farsi script, a language they didn't understand. Hate started the fight. Hate called a happy, loving young man a "terrorist," because he looked Middle Eastern. Hate killed Shayan.

I know you guys like TL;DR's so TL;DR: Friend was stabbed and murdered because he’s Iranian. please sign petition to put away the people involved with the maximum punishment possible

Rest in peace brother, you helped brighten so many lives. I will cherish your friendship so much and I will never forget it.

Thank you for taking the time to read this. Help us make it viral by upvoting it, signing the petition, and by sharing Shayan's story with others. If you want, also please consider donating to this memorial fund -- 100% of the proceeds will be going towards setting up a scholarship in Shayan's name for community college students who are transferring to a four year university. http://justiceforshayan.com/the-shayan-mazroei-foundation/

Petition to Authorities: http://www.niacaction.org/justice4shayan
Petition: http://chn.ge/1LSxDs4
Twitter @justice4shayan https://twitter.com/Justice4Shayan
Instagram @JusticeforShayan https://instagram.com/justiceforshayan/
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/Justice-for-Shayan-Mazroei-1489382904720265/timeline/
Snapchat @justice4shayan
Periscope @justice4shayan
Gmail [email protected]

NATIONAL ARTICLES
Fusion: http://fusion.net/story/205728/why-is-this-iranian-americans-fatal-stabbing-not-being-prosecuted-as-a-hate-crime/
NY Daily News: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/calif-family-hate-crime-charge-iranian-son-death-article-1.2378078
HuffingtonPost: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rick-williams/a-tale-of-two-tattoos-love-and-hate-crime_b_8283146.html
KOCO News: http://www.koco.com/news/family-breaks-silence-in-killing-of-former-oklahoma-resident/35211724