In the past week, Olney has been the site of two fatal shootings. On Friday, March 18, Nazir Ahmed, 81, was found dead in his home on the 19500 block of Olney Mill Road. Then on Monday, March 21, Punyasara W. Palkumbre Gedara, 41, was shot while walking on the 3400 block of North High Street.

Police are looking for an older-model beige Toyota Camry which they believe was involved in Gedara’s shooting. Gedara was on his way home from his job at Subway when the shooting occurred. He recently moved to the Olney area from Sri Lanka with his wife. Ahmed, on the other hand, had lived in Olney for more than 30 years. He was regularly in attendance at the Muslim Community Center’s prayer services. A friend went to check Ahmed’s home after he failed to show up at the Center on Friday.

No motive is known in either murder, and police are currently searching for a link between the two occurrences. It is unknown if the victims knew their attackers.