Grandfather kills 3 family members in Maryland before turning gun on himself, police say

ELKRIDGE, Md. — Three family members were killed and another was critically injured in an apparent murder-suicide in Elkridge, Maryland, Thursday night.

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Residents in the area contacted police after hearing gunshots at a townhouse Thursday night in Elkridge, according to The Associated Press. The suspect also reportedly called police saying that he shot his family members and was planning to take his life, Howard County Police spokesperson Sherry Llewellyn said during a news conference on Friday.

The victims all lived at the townhouse and the suspect did not, according to the AP.

The Howard County Police Department identified the suspect as Nayyer Abbas Syed, 61. The victims were wife, Syeda Aalia, 57; his daughter, Syeda Fatima, 25; and his daughter-in-law, Alizey Fatima, 33. All were pronounced dead at the scene. Syed’s son, Muhammad Ali Hamza, 31, remains in the hospital in critical condition.

Syed’s three-month-old granddaughter was found in the home but was not injured. Police said a wellness check was conducted and she was placed in the custody of a family member.

“This was an isolated incident, a very, very sad one. We’re doing everything we can to work with family members and the surviving son to make sure we’re doing what we can to help them,” Llewellyn said, according to WBAL.

The motive behind the apparent murder-suicide is unknown, Llewellyn said, according to the AP.

“We really don’t know what led up to the incident, but we’re going to do some investigating into cellphone records and text messages and see if we can find more information,” Llewellyn said, according to WBAL.

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