Aishwarya Thatikonda among 9 dead in Texas mall shooting
In the heart-wrenching and horrifying mass shooting incident where nine people were killed when a gunman opened fire at a crowded mall in Dallas Texas, among the deceased a 27-year-old Indian woman was found dead, said the authorities.
Indian Woman, Aishwarya among the 9 dead in Texas mall shooting
According to the media reports, the woman was identified as Aishwarya Thatikonda, of McKinney. She was reportedly shopping with a friend when they were shot by gunman Mauricio Garcia at the Allen Premium Outlets in Dallas.
The shooting started around 3:30 pm on Saturday as throngs of shoppers filled the outdoor mall. The shooting killed at least eight people before Mauricio Garcia, a 33-year-old gunman, was shot dead by a police officer.
The deceased was the daughter of a district judge in Ranga Reddy district court in India, who worked as a project engineer at Perfect General Contractors LLC.
A family representative confirmed to the WFAA television station that Thatikonda was also among the dead from the senseless gun violence.
Thatikonda’s family in shock
According to the judge’s friend, Aishwarya had spoken to her family members before the incident on Saturday, and when they called her back after learning about the shooting they did not get any response.
“The family got the information about (her death) on Sunday. They are in shock. They have been told that efforts were being made to send her body by Wednesday,” the judge’s friend said.
Moreover, she was an engineer living and working in Texas while her family was in India. Her friend, who was not identified, was injured but is currently in stable condition at the hospital.
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Family planning to bring her mortal remains to India
Thatikonda’s family is planning to bring her body back to India, it added.
Taking notes from the journey to the United States, she did her civil engineering from a college in Hyderabad in India and completed her masters in the US after which she had been working there for more than two years.
A Dallas home linked to the gunman’s parents was searched by police Saturday night after the massacre, and officials also scoured a motel where the shooter had booked an extended stay, law-enforcement sources told local outlet WFAA-TV.
Horrified & senseless tragedy
In a statement about the shooting, the mall said, “We are horrified by the senseless tragedy at Allen Premium Outlets and are outraged by the violence that continues to plague our country.”
“Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims, their families and others affected by this heinous act. We are thankful for the Allen Police Officer’s heroic actions and for the support of all the first responders.” So far there have been at least 198 mass shootings in the United States in 2023, according to the gun violence archive,” the mall added.
