iStock/Thinkstock(GERMANTOWN, Md.) — The father of a Maryland teenager gunned down the night before his high school graduation is begging for information to help catch the person who killed his son and a classmate, according to ABC affiliate WJLA-TV.
Shadi Adi Najjar, 17, and Artem Ziberov, 18, were found shot dead Monday night in a parked car on a residential street in Montgomery Village, about 23 miles north of Washington, D.C., Montgomery County police said.
They were set to graduate from Northwest High School in Germantown the next day.
No arrests have been made as authorities continue to investigate the double murder, Montgomery County police said Wednesday. Crime Solvers of Montgomery County is offering a reward of up to $10,000 for any information that leads to an arrest.
Before Najjar’s funeral today, his father begged for information to find the teens’ killer.
Father of slain teen Shadi Najjar with family before son’s funeral. He begs for info to catch killers @ABC7News pic.twitter.com/Eg6TWlZK2R
— Brad Bell (@ABC7Brad) June 7, 2017
The 17-year-old’s funeral at the Islamic Society of Germantown was beyond capacity, WJLA-TV reported.
Funeral for slain teen now beyond capacity of Islamic Society of Germantown @ABC7News pic.twitter.com/c1WTvZ0mhH
— Brad Bell (@ABC7Brad) June 7, 2017
At Tuesday’s graduation ceremony, a moment of silence was held for the slain teenagers.
Northwest High School Principal Jimmy D’Andrea told the graduating students that Najjar, who took higher-level courses such as upper-level calculus, was a “natural learner who had a genuine interest in knowing and understanding.”
“Any assignment completed was well done,” D’Andrea said, “and he enjoyed learning most when he felt challenged.”
He was also “incredibly kind,” “personable” and “always leaned over to help a classmate when they were struggling,” D’Andrea said.
Ziberov, who planned to attend the University of Maryland, had a “dry sense of humor” paired with a “truly kind spirit,” D’Andrea said.
He was a member of the National Honor Society and had earned more than 260 hours of community service, D’Andrea said.
Ziberov was trilingual and working on learning Japanese as a fourth language, D’Andrea said. He wanted to pursue a career in international relations.
The principal said he would deliver the teenagers’ diplomas to their parents later this week.
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