EAST WINDSOR, Conn. -- The homicide of a convenience store owner remains unsolved and community members remembered a friend.

Channel 3 Eyewitness News reporter Katy Zachry reported neighbors organized a prayer vigil by posting fliers in store windows and on store countertops.

Mohammad Malik now runs One Stop Convenience Stop after his nephew was gunned down at the store last month.

Police said several robbers shot Javed Akhtar in the neck and fled before officers arrived. Akhtar was a young husband and a father of two children.

Malik said the nearby apartment community is grieving and wanted to hold a vigil.

"The people came to me," Malik said. "They knew him, they loved him very much, and they are missing him very much."

Malik said that night of violence has scared away business. Down the street, Mohammad Asif has changed his store practices. He now closes early and removes the cash register from the counter.

Asif said he hopes the vigil will raise awareness and bring information about the suspects.

"The police said, 'Close the door at 9:30,'" Asif said. "Somebody says two people, somebody says it was three people, nobody knows what's going on."

From the start of the investigation, police said they were searching for two people, a red Ford Mustang and a black sport utility vehicle. Police told Eyewitness News on Friday that they had no updates in the investigation.

Two Pakistani American organizations offered a reward last month for information that leads to the arrest of the assailants. The groups initially offered a $2,500 reward, but have since increased it to $5,000. The groups said they are offering reward money because they fear that the shooting may have been a hate crime.

The vigil was scheduled for 7 p.m. on Friday and another is scheduled for 10 a.m. on Saturday. The community is also raising funds ofr Akhtar's family.

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