Sources: Suspect Being Questioned In Boonton Shooting; Family Details Unhappy Marriage
BOONTON, N.J. (CBSNewYork) -- The Morris County Prosecutor's Office is questioning a suspect in connection with the shooting of 27-year-old Nazish Noorani and her husband, 26-year-old Kashif Pervaiz, sources told CBS 2 on Thursday.
Officials said Noorani was killed after being shot in the heart on Tuesday night, an incident described by investigators as a "target specific" shooting. As the couple walked to a relative's home with their 3-year-old son, gunmen opened fire. Pervaiz was wounded after being shot multiple times.
"I saw her laying on the ground, he was just going crazy, saying 'help me, help me,' going back and forth," neighbor Dolly Torres told CBS 2's Derricke Dennis. "We heard a cop saying I'm losing her, and after that, we didn't hear anything else."
"I can't believe she's dead," said Noorani's sister Lubna Choudhry. "She just told me 'I'm coming back.'"
Choudhry said Noorani had been unhappy in her marriage with Pervaiz for some time.
1010 WINS' Steve Sandberg reports: Noorani's Sister Says Couple Had Been Having Problems With Their Marriage
Podcast
"The last three months, she's upset because he's not like behave normal," Choudhry said.
Noorani's brother, Kaleem, also admitted that his sister and Pervaiz were having their issues.
WCBS 880's Kelly Waldron Hears From Noorani's Brother
Podcast
"In front of us, like, it was all good. So I don't know, I mean I hope...he's not involved," he told reporters.
The New York Post reported Thursday that police were investigating whether the victims were involved in a love triangle.
Two days before Noorani was killed, Choudhry said she spotted Pervaiz suspiciously walking around her property.
On the night of the tragedy, Choudhry said that she heard one gunshot, followed by a pause and several other gunshots before she ran to her sister's aid. The couple had come to New Jersey from Boston to visit Noorani's family in Boonton and were leaving Choudhry's home shortly before the shooting.
Three suspects reportedly fled the scene -- one allegedly wielding an automatic rifle.
Morris County prosecutor Robert Bianchi said the shooting appeared to be "target specific," adding "there is not a continuing danger to the general public at large." On Thursday, Bianchi said his office would not be releasing any additional information to the public that could jeopardize the ongoing investigation.
In a statement, he said "it is absolutely necessary to protect this investigation, so that our investigative team is able to do its job and ultimately get to the truth and not provide the community bad data, rumors, and the other kinds of wild speculation that come from unreliable sources, as has already occurred."
Raul Santamaria lives in the same Boston building as the couple. Santamaria, 55, told the Star-Ledger Pervaiz was "divorced, or getting divorced." Santamaria also reportedly said he last saw Pervaiz several weeks ago with a woman who was not with his wife.
"The guy told me about six, seven months ago, 'I am in the divorce process'," Santamaria said.
Another neighbor told the Star-Ledger the couple had a heated argument a few months ago and police were called to the apartment.
The New York Daily News reported Pervaiz was robbed at gunpoint six months ago in a Boston parking lot. A police officer in Boonton reportedly told the News investigators are also looking to see if there's any connection between the robbery and the shooting.
Relatives said the family had moved to Boston from Brooklyn so Pervaiz could attend graduate school at Harvard University. But Harvard has no record of a student by the name Kashif Pervaiz.
WCBS 880's Sean Adams reports: No Hate Crime; Havard Has No Record Of The Husband
Podcast
Noorani's funeral service will take place Friday afternoon at the Islamic Center in Boonton.
Please share your thoughts below...
