In a tragic turn of events that sent shockwaves through the community, Farhad Siddique, a 19-year-old male student at the University of Maryland, was killed on September 28, 2016, in College Park, Maryland. The young man, who was a junior studying physiology and neurobiology, died just one day short of his twentieth birthday. The investigation into his death quickly revealed a horrifying family tragedy.
Authorities concluded that Farhad was a victim of a murder-suicide perpetrated by his
own father, 57-year-old Nasir Siddique, a retired U.S. Army lieutenant colonel. The investigation pieced together a grim timeline, indicating that before traveling to College Park, Nasir had first shot and killed his wife, 48-year-old Zarqa Siddique, in their family home in Bel Air. Zarqa was discovered in a bathroom with a gunshot wound to the head.
Following the murder of his wife, Nasir Siddique drove to College Park, where he met with his son. It was in his father's red Jeep, parked near the Parkside apartments, that Farhad Siddique was fatally shot. After killing his son, Nasir Siddique then turned the gun on himself. Friends of Farhad grew concerned when they were unable to reach him and reported him missing. Their search led them to the parking lot where they discovered the vehicle and the two bodies inside.
The motive behind the violent actions of Nasir Siddique remains a point of speculation. Notes left behind at the family's home and text messages sent by Nasir to his brother on the morning of the killings suggested he was under significant stress from his job and was also dealing with depression following the recent death of his own mother. Despite these clues, law enforcement officials stated that a definitive reason for the tragic events may never be fully known. The sole surviving member of the immediate family, Farhad's older sister, was away at an out-of-state university at the time of the incident.
