HOUSTON – The December 2017 death of a cardiologist at a local hotel is the subject of a recently filed wrongful death lawsuit.
Donners Grove, Ill. resident Shabina Hussain sued Extended Stay America, Inc. over Dr. Rashid Ahmad’s passing from an alleged gunshot in the Harris County 281st District Court on Mar. 26.
Court documents explain that the physician, who moved to the Houston area from Chicago late last year to start a new position, rented a room with the hotel. He reportedly purchased a Sig Sauer 938 semi-automatic 9-mm caliber pistol shortly after his arrival.
Following his return to his room, the suit states, Ahmad was shot one time in the chest with the firearm sometime between last Dec. 3 and 4.
Ahmad’s family asserts Extended Stay America told them the decedent was not a guest at the hotel when they requested for it to conduct a welfare check on him.
The suit says a family friend traveled to the hotel to demand it check on Ahmad, adding he was ultimately found dead in his room by police.
Extended Stay America is faulted for negligence. FJ Bolt Action Firearms, LLC, from whom Ahmad purportedly bought the weapon, joins the hotel as a co-defendant for performing the transaction without undergoing the proper procedures as set by state and federal laws.
Consequently, Ahmad’s estate seeks unspecified monetary damages.
Robert W. Berleth of Houston is representing the estate.
Harris County 281st District Court Case No. 2018-20360