A Pakistani finance and IT professional was killed inside his upscale Washington, D.C., condo building after unknowingly letting his attackers inside, mistaking them for fellow residents, police said.
At a news conference, Interim Metropolitan Police Department Chief Jeffrey W. Carroll described the victim, Syed Hammad Hussain, 40, as “an innocent person.” Investigators believe he opened the doors of The Zenith on February 11, assuming the group outside lived there. Authorities added that the suspects have not been connected to any other robberies or violent incidents.
“He was going out to get food and going back home,” Carroll said, adding that there is no known relationship between Hussain and his killers. “They just took advantage of him.”
Rico Rashaad Barnes, 36, and Alphonso Walker, 39, both of Northwest Washington, have been charged with first-degree murder. Walker was already in police custody on unrelated charges at the time of his arrest.
The incident began in the early morning hours of February 11, when Barnes and another man allegedly followed Hussain from a fast-food restaurant to The Zenith in the Logan Circle neighbourhood. Surveillance footage shows Hussain entering the building around 1:35 a.m. Moments later, one of the suspects banged on a glass door until Hussain let him inside. A second suspect followed, along with a third man who later cooperated with investigators.
Authorities say the group argued in a hallway before moving outside, where Hussain was punched and collapsed. The two remaining suspects are accused of carrying Hussain back into the building and into his first-floor apartment. Emergency crews found Hussain’s body around 3:30 a.m. after reports of smoke in the building. Court records state Hussain suffered multiple skull fractures, and investigators found two 25-pound metal dumbbells near his body, along with signs he had been strangled and burned. The apartment had been ransacked, with laptop computers missing.
