Lyft driver shot dead in DC amid surge in violence in the city

Police in Washington, D.C., are searching for the suspects who shot and killed a Lyft driver in one of many recent acts of violence in the city.

Nasrat Ahmad Yar, 31, was found shot in a car shortly after midnight Monday morning, the Metropolitan Police Department said.

Four suspects were seen on surveillance cameras running away from the scene, police said.

Yar’s friend, Matthew Butler, told Washington, D.C., ABC affiliate WJLA that Yar was an interpreter for the U.S. Army in Afghanistan for 10 years.

“He re-located to Philadelphia in 2022, and that was the last time I saw him and visited him there. [Then] he re-located to D.C. to be closer to family,” Butler told WJLA. “Last time I spoke to him was about a week ago and he was trying to start his own tow truck company.”

Butler said Yar is survived by his wife and four children.

A Lyft spokesperson said, “Our hearts are with Mr. Nasrat’s loved ones as they confront this unspeakable tragedy. We have reached out to his family to offer our support and are in contact with law enforcement to assist with their investigation.”

The police department is offering a reward up to $25,000.

Yar’s slaying is one of 10 murders in D.C. since July 1. And early Wednesday, nine people, including two children, were injured in a drive-by mass shooting in the city.

Homicides in the city are up 19% year-to-date from 2022, while all violent crime is up 30%, according to police data.

Local leaders gathered on Thursday to call for more help from the public as city officials prepared to vote on emergency legislation. Councilmember Brooke Pinto introduced a number of new bills geared toward closing loopholes in the district’s criminal justice system.

“We have an obligation not to let a few people destroy that peace and tranquility for all of the rest of us,” D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser told reporters Thursday.

ABC News’ Chad Murray contributed to this report.