A man working as a delivery driver was shot and killed on the job in Mitchellville, Maryland, early Thursday, police said.
Noel Njoku, of Springdale, was the victim, Prince George’s County police said. He was 48 and is survived by his spouse and four children.
His wife and brother wept and pleaded for answers in the hours after his death.
“Please, anybody who has any information, please, please, please — anybody who has any information should come and help us out, please,” Chidi Njoku, the victim’s brother, said through tears.
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Njoku was a happy, “peace-loving person” who moved to the U.S. from Nigeria decades ago, his brother said. He had only recently started working for DoorDash.
“I want to know who killed my husband,” the victim’s wife said.
After her husband failed to answer her calls, she went from hospital to hospital looking for him. Finally, an officer at University of Maryland Capital Region Medical Center broke the news.
Njoku was the father of a 15-year-old daughter, 13-year-old daughter and 11-year-old twin boys.
Njoku was found suffering from gunshot wounds at about 12:20 a.m. in a car in the 3700 block of Lottsford Vista Road, police said.
"The preliminary investigation revealed Njoku was delivering food to a home in the area when he was shot," police said in a statement.
Njoku was taken to a hospital, where he died.
It wasn’t immediately clear who killed Njoku or why.
“Detectives are currently right now at the scene, collecting evidence, speaking to witnesses, trying to piece everything together,” Pfc. Antonia Washington said.
Njoku’s brother begged someone to contact police.
“Please let the person come forward and know the kind of hurt he has put on this family,” he said.
DoorDash released this statement: “We are deeply saddened by this senseless act of violence and our hearts go out to the Dasher's loved ones at this incredibly difficult time. The safety of our community is paramount and we immediately reached out to law enforcement to offer our assistance in any way we can. We are actively working to get in touch with this Dasher’s family to extend our full support.”
Other delivery drivers have been attacked in the D.C. area in recent years.
In 2019, DoorDash driver Yusuf Ozgur was shot and killed at a Denny's restaurant in Manassas, Virginia, after he unknowingly held the door for robbery suspects as they fled, police said.
This spring, two teen girls carjacked Uber Eats driver Mohammad Anwar near Nationals Park. He died after his car flipped.
Stay with NBC Washington for more details on this developing story.
