DANVILLE, Va. – On a rainy Tuesday morning in September, 54-year-old Tahir Mahmud was found shot to death inside his Joy Food Store.
Abdul Hakim Abdullah said many people, including himself, who knew Mahmud are frustrated that the investigation is taking so long.
"We all want some closure. People are still hurting. I'm still hurting. Every time I ride past his place of business it just pains me," Abdullah said.
No arrests have been made, but Danville Police Department Lt. Mike Wallace said that's not for a lack of trying.
"We continue to work on it. It continues to be a priority like all our murder cases. We share in any frustration that family or friends may have," Wallace said.
Search warrants say investigators collected the drawer of the cash register from the store, a wallet, keys, two shell casings and had a locksmith open a safe to try to determine if money was stolen.
No official motive or information about a suspect or suspects have been given.
"We won't go into any detail about what we have or where we are in the case. That's not something we typically do," Wallace said.
Abdullah said Mahmud's family is still too emotional to speak about the murder.
"To all my Christian friends, all my Muslim brothers, and everyone out there in the city of Danville that has good morals. Somebody knows something," Abdullah stressed.
Friends and family of Mahmud are offering a $5,000 reward for information.
"If you know somebody who knows something, this $5,000 reward is for real and we want to get to the bottom of it. Now, we're not a rich community, his family's not rich. If we could offer $50,000, $100,000, I'm pretty sure we would," Mahmud said.
Anyone with information about the case is asked to call the Danville Police Department at 434-793-0000 or 434-799-6508.