Philosopher and scholar Javed Bhutto, 64, was shot dead Friday morning outside a convenience store in Southeast Washington, The Washington Post reported.

According to The Washington Post, 45-year-old Hilman Jordan was taken into police custody and charged with Bhutto's murder.

The US publication said that Bhutto was shot around 11am. The shooter was reported to have been a neighbour who had been involved in a dispute with Bhutto.

“He [the attacker] was a heavy drinker and was often very rowdy and noisy. Bhutto had recently registered a complaint against him with the building landlord,” The Express Tribune quoted a member of the family as saying.

The neighbourhood where the shooting took place has seen a sharp increase in homicide incidents.

Bhutto was the husband of journalist Nafisa Hoodbhoy and brother-in-law of eminent Pakistani physicist Pervez Hoodbhoy.

Bhutto had served as the head of the Philosophy Department at Sindh University before moving to the US.

Many journalists and intellectuals took to Twitter to condole Bhutto's death: