NEW ORLEANS -- Police have identified the man they believe shot and killed a man inside his own restaurant in Gentilly earlier this week.
According to NOPD, 20-year-old Lavar Marquise Butler shot and killed Adnan Alasar on the night of Dec. 6. Butler is wanted for first-degree murder.
Butler may have fled to Houston, Texas according to NOPD. He may be armed.
Alasar was fatally shot inside one of his Subway restaurants. According to police, an Butler walked into the store and pulled out a gun. The two men argued before Butler fired two shots, striking Alasar.
Paramedics took Alasar to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Friends and customers say Alasar was the embodiment of the American Dream A Syrian immigrant who built three businesses in the New Orleans area with his wife. He was also the father of three children, all under the age of 12.
"He always was very proud of being an American, you know? Just like we all are," Alasar's long-time friend Raj Pannu said. "We are all Americans and we have come here to seek our dreams too and it really pains me when I see this kind of incident."
Pannu added that on top of everything else, Alasar was a very giving man.
"I do remember once when I went to visit his Subway, there was a homeless guy who he gave food to and that was very nice, very touching," Pannu said.
A frequent customer told Eyewitness News this is not the first time Alasar had been held up.
Another woman, who asked to remain anonymous, said she works nearby and has been robbed before as well.
"It's very upsetting and emotional because when you go through it once, you remember what happened," she said.
Anyone with information on Lavar Marquise Butler's location should call NOPD Homicide Detective Thaddeus Williams at 504-658-5300 or CRIMESTOPPERS at 504-822-1111.