Killing of Pizza Hut driver ‘out of the norm,’ police say

There is no indication that the Pizza Hut delivery driver who was fatally shot and left in his trunk over the weekend had been robbed, Wichita police said Monday.

Lt. Todd Ojile said the killing of Hasan Rahman, 26, is “out of the norm” for crimes against pizza delivery drivers.

“We’re not sure how that went down,” he said Monday. “We’re looking at other pizza delivery robberies because this was out of the norm from what we usually have. Usually those are handled in a different way. They’re handled by youngsters who actually call in the pizza delivery and they take the pizza and cash. This was not one of those. This is out of the ordinary and strange. We’re looking at every angle of what could have happened or why this occurred.”

Rahman’s body was found just before noon Sunday. Police were called about a suspicious vehicle in the 7800 block of East Pagent, but officers had been looking for Rahman since the night before. Pagent is near Central and Rock Road.

Rahman made a couple deliveries in the 1100 and 1300 blocks of North Williamsburg – about 3 miles from where his body was found – and didn’t return to work.

His co-workers went North Williamsburg in an attempt to find him. Instead, they found some property belonging to Pizza Hut, collected it, returned to the restaurant and called 911, Ojile said.

Officers tried looking for Rahman on Saturday evening but were not successful.

Ojile said Rahman was shot on North Williamsburg before he and his vehicle were moved to the East Pagent site. The location where his body was found and his previous deliveries aren’t believed to be related to his death, Ojile said.

Rahman’s death was one of four that police investigated over the weekend, including the deaths of a 62-year-old mother and her 23-year-old son, who were found shot in the 7500 block of East Huntington – about three blocks from East Pagent. A 25-year-old woman was found dead in a home in Riverside early Sunday. Her boyfriend has been arrested, Ojile said.

The bodies of Huong Pham and Cody Ha – the mother and son – were discovered at about 11 p.m. Saturday.

Asked if the double homicide and Rahman’s death could be related due to the proximity, Ojile said, “We’re looking at every angle we can right now and are waiting on some further testing. As of right now, we have no evidence to show they’re related, but they are very close (in distance). We are looking to see if they’re connected at all.”

Ojile said investigators are still talking to friends, neighbors and anyone who would have information while they wait for evidence to be processed in all three killings.

Pizza Hut released this statement: “There are no words that can express the grief and sadness we feel as a result of this tragedy. This is a very close-knit group, and this has hit us all very hard. Our offices are in Wichita and we are all members of this community. Hasan was an outstanding person and team member. Obviously, our employees and their safety is a top priority for us. We are fully cooperating with local law enforcement as part of their investigation. Our sincerest heartfelt sympathies go out to Hasan’s family, friends and our fellow team members affected by this senseless tragedy.”

This story was originally published November 27, 2017 at 11:17 AM with the headline "Killing of Pizza Hut driver ‘out of the norm,’ police say."