A 21-year-old Gaithersburg man is charged with first-degree murder in the fatal shooting of Nicholas Njuki outside Quincy's Potomac Bar & Grille on Sept. 13.

Shayan Solimani Damabi faces the murder charge and a firearms count after the shooting at Potomac Woods Plaza in the 1000 block of Seven Locks Road, as first reported by Bethesda Magazine. Montgomery County District Judge Sherri Koch ordered him held without bond at a Sept. 18 hearing in Rockville.

The shooting followed a fight inside the bar. A security guard broke up the altercation and escorted Solimani Damabi out the front entrance. Njuki, 33, of Gaithersburg, and a companion left through the back, according to court records.

Both men got into separate vehicles. Prosecutor Samuel White said Solimani Damabi stopped his car in front of Njuki's vehicle near Fortune Terrace and Northside Park Boulevard. Njuki exited and approached Solimani Damabi's car, and Solimani Damabi opened fire. One shot severed Njuki's femoral artery. He was pronounced dead at the scene around 2 a.m. White said Njuki was not armed.

Investigators recovered 21 shell casings and two slugs embedded in a nearby apartment building. White said the firearm has been linked through shell casings to two 2024 shootings in Baltimore. Police have not recovered the gun but believe an attachment converted it into an automatic weapon.

Defense attorney David Moyse argued that a larger group attacked his client with chairs and other objects inside the bar, and that Solimani Damabi tried to flee but was chased. Prosecutors disputed the self-defense claim, arguing he could have escaped.

"This was a very violent offense," Koch said, citing the number of times Solimani Damabi allegedly fired.

Hours after the shooting, an automatic license plate reader captured Solimani Damabi's vehicle 266 miles away in West Virginia, White said. On Sept. 17, officers with the U.S. Marshals Fugitive Task Force arrested him without incident after he left a Gaithersburg motel.

Wootton High School junior Mayson Kleinman told the Wootton Common Sense student newspaper he had been at the plaza an hour before the shooting.

Njuki played soccer at Quince Orchard High School and James Madison University and later coached young athletes in the area, Patch reported. His brother, Ezra Njuki, described him as a cherished family member, friend, coach and mentor in a GoFundMe campaign for funeral expenses, according to Bethesda Magazine.

Solimani Damabi's next court appearance was scheduled for Friday, Oct. 16. The charges are allegations and do not establish guilt. Anyone with information about the case can contact the Montgomery County Police at 240-773-5070 or Crime Solvers at 1-866-411-8477.