Fatality Victim in D.C. Pizza Mart Identified as Owner

A victim of an apparent homicide, found inside a Northeast Washington pizza restaurant, was identified by police Wednesday as the owner of the business.

The body of Shahabuddin Rana, 44, was discovered about 1 p.m. Tuesday inside the Pizza Mart in the 2300 block of Fourth Street in the Edgewood neighborhood. Police said Rana's death is being treated as a homicide, although investigators are awaiting the results of an autopsy to determine the cause and manner of his death.

Rana, who lived on the 800 block of Sligo Avenue in Silver Spring, was found dead by officers who were "flagged down by a concerned citizen" and asked to check on the welfare of the Pizza Mart owner, police said in a statement. The restaurant was not open at the time.

Police spokeswoman Traci Hughes declined to say what wounds Rana had suffered. A fire department spokesman said that there was evidence of a small fire near the body but that Rana apparently died of "traumatic injuries" unrelated to the fire