Smoke seeped into the first-floor hallway of the Zenith condominium building in the Logan Circle neighborhood. It was 3:30 a.m., and most residents were in for the night.
Firefighters responding to a 911 call on Wednesday walked along the hallway looking for the source. The black door to unit 106 was closed but unlocked. Inside, D.C. police said a small fire filled the one-bedroom loft with thick smoke.
On the floor, firefighters found the body of Syed Hammad Hussain, 40, according to D.C. police. He had been bludgeoned and burned, according to a police report and court documents, his wrists and ankles bound with neckties. Two 25-pound dumbbells were found near the body, police said, but a court document did not describe whether the equipment had been used as weapons.
Police said they have not made any arrests in the case, one of six homicides in the District this year, and the second in a neighborhood where violent crime is rare. The circumstances of this killing have stunned Hussain’s relatives, who described the Pakistani immigrant as gregarious and outgoing, strong and handsome, and always well dressed.
“He was just living the good life,” said his uncle, Syed K. Hussain, who lives in Virginia. Family members said Hussain worked in finance and IT. “What happened is shocking,” said his cousin, Syed Mohammed Ali.
A D.C. police report and an application for a search warrant filed in Superior Court after Hussain’s body was found do not describe possible motives. A police spokesman declined to comment on the case.
The Zenith has eight stories and nearly 50 residences, with large windows overlooking Rhode Island Avenue between 14th and 15th streets NW, across the street from a hotel.
Alicia Camaliche and her partner were woken up early Wednesday by the smell of smoke and something burning, she said. At first, the couple thought something inside their unit — next door to Hussain’s apartment — had caught fire, but they couldn’t find the source.
So, she dialed 911. Firefighters arrived “within a few minutes,” said Camaliche, who noticed D.C. police officers and agents with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives pull up to the building.
“So, as residents, we started wondering what’s going on,” she said. “It seemed more than just a fire.”
Her suspicions were confirmed when police told her they were conducting a homicide investigation. “It’s devastating to hear that something so horrible happened, and to know that happened to someone that you’ve lived next to for years is another layer that just makes it absolutely devastating,” she said.
Camaliche said she knew Hussain by his middle name, Hammad. The neighbors exchanged pleasantries, she said. They were neighbors for four years, she said, and at one time their dogs played together.
The building’s residents have rallied together since news broke of the death, said Camaliche. “They’ve been very supportive, and I think as a community, we are all pretty rattled,” she said.
Ali, 42, said Hussain grew up in Pakistan and moved to the United States in his late teens. He recalled playing cricket and kite competition with Hussain in their native country.
“He was full of energy,” Ali said. “I never remember ever having an argument with him.” He said when he tried to instigate an exchange, Hussain would simply shrug, “‘Okay, I’m good.’ He would walk away.”
Hussain graduated from college in the mid- to late 2000s, his cousin said, majoring in business and finance.
“What happened is shocking,” Ali said.
Syed K. Hussain said police have told the family very little of what detectives have learned about his nephew’s death. He said the relatives, particularly Syed Hammad Hussain’s mother, whom his nephew was close with, “are devastated.” Other relatives declined interview requests. Many live in Northern Virginia.
“How can this happen in D.C., where there are security cameras,” Syed K. Hussain said. D.C. police declined to comment on whether security cameras at the complex or elsewhere captured any helpful video.
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