A photo of Shadi and his friends from Seventh Grade. Provided by Shadi's friend Carlton.

The tragic murders of Artem and Shadi in Montgomery Village has rocked our community to its core. The two were just hours away from graduation with honors from Northwest High School in Germantown when they were killed. Shadi's father Adi is a pillar of the congregation at the Islamic Society of Germantown, where I worship on Fridays. His brother Ammar is the Imam for the mosque, and both of them are friends whom I deeply admire and respect. According to Islamic custom, mourning takes place for three days after a bereavement. Today therefore is the last day to offer condolences, although the Najjar family informed me that they would accept condolences only at the funeral and burial which happened yesterday.

How You Can Help

Community members and friends have set up a GoFundMe page where you can contribute to help the Najjar and Ziberov families cover funeral and burial costs: https://www.gofundme.com/najjar
Generally speaking, Islamic beliefs allow for acts of charity and prayers for the deceased to benefit their soul after they pass on. Ongoing charity or sadaqah jariyah is a time-honored act. You can donate blood (as long as you're not fasting), give to a charity, or plant a tree to benefit the souls Artem & Shadi as an act of memorial.
If you know anything that can help bring the murderer(s) of Artem & Shadi to justice, please contact the police immediately. The police will accept anonymous tip-offs. During Ramadan, Muslims believe that the devil and his lieutenants are interned for the entirety of the month. Therefore, one has to be the most despicable of the low to commit murder during this sacred time of spiritual renewal. Please help us get the murderer(s) off the streets.