A 68-year-old man killed at his family's Metzger residence Wednesday afternoon was a retired survey technician from Washington County's Land Use & Transportation department, according to officials.

Abdul Jamil Kamawal of Portland was killed at the family property in the 7500 block of Southwest Cedarcrest Street, just outside Tigard, said Sgt. Bob Ray, a spokesman for the Washington County Sheriff's Office. Deputies quickly arrested 27-year-old Michael R. Troxell on a murder charge, but many questions remain unanswered.

Kamawal died at the scene from head injuries. Troxell, who was taken into custody at the scene, wasn't related or well-known to Kamawal or his family, deputies said. Ray said Troxell had just started working on the property this week.

Neighbors on Thursday morning told The Oregonian/OregonLive that they feared the killing could be a hate crime. Kamawal was Muslim.

Authorities said they do not have any information indicating the homicide was a hate crime. A spokesman for the Council on American-Islamic Relations, a Muslim advocacy group, said Thursday that it would be "looking into the incident" regarding motive.

Andrew Singelakis, director of the county's Land Use & Transportation department, released this statement about Kamawal's death Thursday afternoon:

"Most LUT employees learned of Jamil's death this morning. Though he retired more than 10 years ago, he is remembered with affection by many. Several people have recalled the pride Jamil took in becoming an American citizen. He often went back to Afghanistan help rebuild his home village of Kama, and he founded two non-profit organizations - the Afghan Aid Association and the Oregon-based Kama Relief Corp. Both organizations are dedicated to rebuilding lives and communities in Afghanistan. Employees are speaking about how kind Jamil was; former coworkers have said that working with Jamil made them better, kinder people.

"Jamil was an outstanding member of both his American and Afghanistan communities, a wonderful family man, and a fantastic member of the LUT community. He worked for LUT as a survey technician from 1985 to 2007. His death is a terrible tragedy. Washington County, and LUT in particular, extend our condolences to Jamil's family, friends and the Portland-area Muslim community."

-- Rebecca Woolington

503-294-4049; @rwoolington