He rented out an electronics store, People N Tech, in the same building. In his basement office, he dealt in check-cashing and currency. His brothers told police that probably $20,000 was missing from the office safe.
At about 12:25 a.m., the police arrived at the building and found him dead. They were there in response to a 911 call of an assault in progress. One of his brothers had found him first.
Please prepare yourselves to read a gory description or skip over it: Mr. Mahmud's head had been bashed, his face was burned, and lacerations to his throat were so deep that they almost decapitated him.
Nobody has been arrested. NYPD will check a surveillance camera. Police describe the tenant who lived in the apartment next to the office as a "person of interest." He may have argued with Mr. Mahmud before the murder. He is in his 20s and has not been seen since the murder.
The 57-year-old Mr. Mahmud, nicknamed "Dulal," lived on Westminster Road. He immigrated from Sandwip, an island along the southeastern coast of Bangladesh in the Chittagong District. He was the father of two young boys.
A long-time businessperson and a community leader, Mr. Mahmud was active in the Church-McDonald Bangladesh Business Association (CMBBA).
Mr. Mahmud's father was a famous headmaster in Bangladesh.
His body will be transported to Bangladesh for burial.