Murdered DoorDash driver was DOCTOR who was working part time as food delivery man to help pay for wife's medical training

Published: 18:56, 31 July 2026 | Updated: 19:03, 31 July 2026 A doctor working as a DoorDash driver to support his wife’s medical career was shot in the back of the head after being sent to a Philadelphia address where residents told police they had not ordered food. Md Mahfuzul Haque, 43, was making a delivery in the city’s Kingsessing neighborhood on July 7 when he was killed in what police described as a targeted attack involving three masked suspects.  Zakah Johnson, 15, has been charged as an adult with murder, robbery, conspiracy and firearms offenses over Haque’s death. Johnson was already in custody in connection with an unrelated investigation when authorities identified him as a suspect and rearrested him before his scheduled release, police said. The teenager was denied bail and is being held at the Philadelphia Juvenile Justice Services Center ahead of a preliminary hearing on August 10, according to NBC 10. Investigators were still searching for two other people believed to have been involved in the killing.  Haque, a physician from Bangladesh, had temporarily set aside his own medical ambitions and taken odd jobs to support his wife, Minara Rahman, while she pursued an optometry career in the US, The Philadelphia Inquirer reports. But their attempt to build a new life in America ended in tragedy just as Rahman was beginning the career her husband had worked to support. Md Mahfuzul Haque, 43, was shot dead while making a DoorDash delivery in Philadelphia’s Kingsessing neighborhood on July 7, police said Zakah Johnson, 15, has been charged as an adult with murder, robbery, conspiracy and firearms offenses over Haque’s death Officers were called to South Ithan Street shortly before 9.30pm and discovered Haque lying beside his car, which was still running. He had been shot in the back of the head, and two spent rifle casings were recovered within inches of him, according to KYW Newsradio. A DoorDash bag was also found nearby. Haque was rushed to Penn Presbyterian Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead. Police said three masked men dressed in dark clothing fled after the shooting. Investigators also recovered several cellphones from the scene and found another bag of food up to a block away, KYW reported. They began reviewing footage from surveillance cameras around the neighborhood as they attempted to trace Haque’s final delivery and identify the attackers. Police have not disclosed who placed the order, explained why Haque may have been targeted or identified which alleged participant fired the fatal shot. DoorDash said it was cooperating with the investigation. ‘We are deeply saddened by this tragic loss,’ the company told Fox 29. ‘We are fully cooperating with law enforcement to assist their investigation in order to help bring those responsible for this senseless act to justice.’ Haque was a physician who took a DoorDash job to support his wife while she pursued an optometry career in the US Haque and Rahman, both 43, met while attending medical school in their native Bangladesh in 2000 and married soon afterward. The couple later practiced medicine in Bangladesh before moving to Canada under skilled immigration visas in 2011, Rahman told the Inquirer. They spent much of the next decade in Canada, where Haque had extended family, before relocating to Philadelphia with their son in 2023. Rahman enrolled in Drexel University’s optometry program in the hope of qualifying to work in the US and earning enough to support the family. Haque took delivery and other temporary jobs while his wife completed her education. ‘It was me who wanted to do something more, and he always supported me,’ Rahman told the Inquirer. ‘Without him, it would have been impossible.’ Rahman graduated last year and began practical training while the family worked to extend their US visas. She said they believed moving to America would provide greater opportunity, safety and security for their family despite her concerns about crime in Philadelphia. Rahman has since abandoned her plans to pursue a medical career in the US and returned to Vancouver with the couple’s 14-year-old son. Haque’s killing was one of at least three shootings involving delivery drivers in Philadelphia this summer Rahman said she was particularly shaken by the accused teenager’s age because Johnson is only one year older than her son. ‘I can’t imagine any boy like my son’s age treating anybody else like that,’ she told the Inquirer. ‘I have no idea what they were thinking - what was their motive, and how did they get that firearm that easily?’ The killing destroyed the family’s plans for a summer trip to Florida and an Atlantic City celebration marking the couple’s wedding anniversary, the outlet reports. Rahman said she was also struggling with guilt over whether the family’s move to Philadelphia for her career had contributed to her husband’s death. ‘I’m crying, I’m mourning, I’m in grief, but I’m still not believing he’s not with me,’ she said. Haque’s death was one of at least three shootings involving delivery drivers in Philadelphia this summer. Police separately charged a 14-year-old boy with allegedly luring delivery driver Anshul Kuncha to an abandoned North Philadelphia rowhouse, where he was found fatally shot in the head. A third delivery driver, 31, was shot in the hand following an argument with two women in the Northern Liberties neighborhood, police said. He was hospitalized in stable condition. Rahman said she and Haque had spent years helping patients through their darkest moments while working in medicine. She now found herself needing that support. ‘Now I’m in that situation,’ she told the Inquirer. ‘I can’t take it anymore, and I need help.’ The Daily Mail has contacted the Philadelphia Police Department, the district attorney’s office and DoorDash for further comment.