University of Maryland junior Farhad Siddique, 19, was killed Sept 28. Police believe his father, Nasir Siddique, shot him before then killing himself. Prince George’s County Police and Harford County Sheriff’s Office are investigating the incident outside of Parkside apartments as a domestic murder-suicide. Investigators believe that Nasir Siddique killed his wife, 48-year-old Zarqa Siddique of Bel Air, before traveling to College Park.
The Diamondback will provide live coverage all day as information becomes available along with student, police, university and city reaction. Follow @thedbk on Twitter for live updates.
Updated: Sept. 29, 7:12 p.m.
Suspect Nasir Siddique’s daughter, Laila, is a student at Penn State College of Medicine, according to his LinkedIn profile.
Updated: Sept. 29, 5:12 p.m.
A funeral prayer for Siddique will be held at the Islamic Society of Baltimore on Oct. 1 following the 1:30 p.m. afternoon prayer, according to Muslim Students Association treasurer Ahmedin Ibrahim.
Siddique, who was a physiology and neurobiology major at this university, would have turned 20 years old today, Ibrahim wrote in an email.
Updated: Sept. 29, 4:23 p.m.
UMPD received notice of a missing person at about 9 p.m., according to a statement released today. At about 10:30 p.m., officers went to the scene of the crime and found “two individuals in the vehicle” — one of which was the missing person.
“Both were pronounced dead on the scene,” the statement said.
The statement did not provide further information on the vehicle. The Prince George’s County Police Department is the primary investigator going forward.
UMPD also said they chose not to send an alert because it was not an “imminent threat.”
“A UMD Alert was not issued to campus in this instance, as the purpose of alerts is to inform the campus community of an imminent threat or an on-going risk to the campus community,” the statement said. “Our officers determined that there was no imminent threat involving this case nor an on-going risk to the campus community.”
Updated: Sept. 29, 3:43 p.m.
Many university students are in shock as to why University Police didn’t send out an alert last night following the shooting:
“I had no idea [about the shooting],” said Renita Fajardo, a sophomore English major. “That would be kind of nice to know, since I commute and sometimes stay late.”
“If something serious happens it would be nice to know, since we get alerts for almost everything,” said Irene Gomez, junior psychology major. “As a commuter it would be nice to know if something goes on, even if it’s not on campus but around the area, because that’s where we live too.”
“There’s not really anything else besides the fact that it’s awful,” said Shoshana Kott, a freshman enrolled in letters and sciences. “I was surprised that there was no email.”
“[My friend] was reading the news and she said, ‘Oh my gosh, did you hear, do you know where it is? There was a murder suicide,'” said freshman government and politics major Ashton Higdon, who found out about the shooting 20 minutes ago. “…This one I had no clue about, which kind of worried me a little bit.”
Updated: Sept. 29, 3:35 p.m.
District 1 Councilman Fazlul Kabir said his son, who graduated from this university, had mutual friends with Siddique. His son showed him Siddique’s Facebook page, where there were photos of the family at a recent event.
“It’s very heartbreaking because it looks like they were a wonderful family,” Kabir said. “I don’t know why this happened, it is so sad.”
District 2 Councilman P.J. Brennan also took to Twitter to express his condolences.
Prayers for the victims of last night’s murder-suicide in our Lakeland community, esp. to the UMD friends of Farhad. https://t.co/T0chbAE47a
— PJ Brennan (@PJ4CPMD) September 29, 2016
Updated: Sept. 29, 3:25 p.m.
Students in need of counseling support following Farhad Siddique’s death are encouraged to utilize the university’s Counseling Center, which offers emergency consultations during business hours — 8:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays and 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on Fridays — and do not require an appointment, wrote David Petersen, the center’s associate director, in an email.
The center also offers crisis response interventions with trained therapists, which is offered to students, staff and faculty. Requests can be made by calling (301) 314-7651.
“We will provide crisis support services to members of our campus community in the days and weeks that follow this tragic loss,” Petersen wrote.
Updated: Sept. 29, 3:00 p.m.
The UMD Muslim Students Association is not making a statement at this time “in an effort to provide the family space and privacy,” wrote Ahmedin Ibrahim, the organization’s treasurer, in an email.
“Please keep Farhad and his family in your prayers during this immensely difficult time,” he wrote.
Updated: Sept. 29, 2:47 p.m.
Junior Brent McGuire, who lived with Siddique freshman year, said he was a “very genuine person who really seemed to be enjoying the college experience.”
McGuire said he remembers Siddique going home every weekend.
“He didn’t talk about his family but I thought it was a good relationship because he was always going home,” said McGuire, an economics major.
Updated: Sept. 29, 2:22 p.m.
“The University of Maryland community is deeply saddened by the events that occurred last night,” university spokeswoman Crystal Brown wrote in a statement. “This is a tragedy that will be felt by our entire community. During this time of loss, we extend our deepest sympathy to the families and friends of the victims.”
Farhad Siddique was first reported missing when he did not show up in class, according to the Baltimore Sun’s Jessica Anderson.
PG County police said Farhad Siddique was first reported missing by friends when he didn’t show up for class.
— Jessica Anderson (@janders5) September 29, 2016
Updated: Sept. 29, 2:09 p.m.
Zarqa Siddique was an Inclusion Helper at Prospect Mill Elementary School in Harford County. The school will be providing students and faculty with resources to cope with the loss, said Jillian Lader, a Harford County Public Schools spokeswoman.
Updated: Sept. 29, 1:52 p.m.
Nineteen-year-old Farhad Siddique of 48th Avenue was shot and killed Wednesday night. He was a junior at the University of Maryland, according to the student directory and acquaintances.
Prince George’s County Police and Harford County Sheriff’s Office are investigating the incident. They categorized it as a domestic murder-suicide.
Police were initially notified of a missing person at about 9 p.m. While searching the 8100 block of 48th Avenue, police discovered the missing person as well as another victim suffering from gunshot wounds in a parking lot near the Parkside apartments.
Nasir Siddique, the suspect, is Farhad Siddique’s father. Prince George’s County detectives believe that he shot his son and then killed himself.
The Harford County Sheriff’s Office is investigating the death of Nasir Siddique’s wife, 48-year-old Zarqa Siddique of Bel Air. She was found dead inside the bathroom of her home with a gunshot wound to the head.
Investigators believe that Nasir Siddique killed his wife before traveling to Prince George’s County.
