A tenant in a Bronx apartment was stabbed to death by his landlord Wednesday during an argument over late rent payments, according to police.
Zakir A. Khan, 44, a real estate broker, was allegedly killed by his landlord, 51-year-old Taha Mahran, sources said.
Cops arrived around 6:30 p.m. and discovered the 44-year-old Khan bleeding and unresponsive in front of his home on Logan Avenue near Barkley Avenue in Throggs Neck.
Mahran was arrested and charged with murder, manslaughter, and criminal possession of a weapon.
Neighbors said Khan was renting his $1,500-a-month apartment at 1001 Logan Ave. in hopes of buying it, but had apparently not paid the rent for as long as nine months.
“[The landlord] was very stressed about not getting any rent and I guess he lost it. He felt like the tenant was playing games with him,” said neighbor Acindina Cumel, who called Mahran, the suspect, a “decent man.”
Another neighbor said that the stabbing was witnessed by Khan’s son.
“The kid is 12 and sees his father killed,” the source said. “Bad. Very bad.”
Khan is a Bangladesh-born US citizen, who has been living in America since 1992, according to daily-sun.com, a Bangladshi community news source.
“ Zakir was a very popular face in Bengali community in New York,” the site said.
Khan was the owner Parkchester Real Estate New York, according to the site. Despite his prominence in the local community he was no stranger to legal problems.
Khan had appeared in court just days earlier for charges brought against him in February of last year that included aggravated harassment and stalking.
He was due to reappear in criminal court March 25th.