US: 27-year-old woman from Telangana dies in Texas shooting

Ranga Reddy (Telangana) [India], May 9 : A 27-seven-year-old woman belonging to Telangana's Ranga Reddy was among the eight people killed in a shooting at Allen Mall in Texas, US on May 6, an official said.

The deceased was identified as Aishwarya Thatikonda, who was the daughter of Ranga Reddy's district judge.

Aishwarya Thatikonda was shot dead along with seven others in a mass shooting in Texas. A few years back, Aishwarya Thatikonda moved to the US and was working as a project manager.

Speaking to the media, Rajireddy, Public Prosecutor, Ranga Reddy District Court said on Monday, "It is very unfortunate that the daughter of a district judge, Ranga Reddy, was killed."

He urged the Indian government to coordinate with the US government to "ban" the gun culture in the Western country.

"Many are going to America for jobs but there is no social security. It's very unfortunate that she went to buy groceries and was gunned down by miscreants. The Indian government should coordinate with the American government and ban the gun culture completely," he said.

Aishwarya Thatikonda of McKinney was shopping with a friend at the Allen Premium Outlets in the northern suburbs of Dallas when a gunman opened fire, The New York Post reported citing local reports. She was with a friend at the outlet mall when the shots were fired, WFAA reported citing the family representative.

Aishwarya Thatikonda's friend was injured but is in stable condition at the hospital, The New York Post reported. As per her LinkedIn profile, Thatikonda had been working in Dallas for over two years, as per the news report.

The mortal remains of Indian-origin citizen Aishwarya Thatikonda, who was among the victims in the Texas Shootout, will be sent to India soon.

Sources told that the mortal remains of the young engineer will be sent to India soon and assistance will be provided to her family.

The Consulate General of India in Houston expressed condolences to the family of Aishwarya Thatikonda. It further said that they are in touch with the family of the deceased and the local authorities.

The Consulate General of India in Houston tweeted, "We express our deep condolences to the family of Ms. Aishwarya Thatikonda who died in the tragic shooting incident in Allen, Texas on May 6. We are in touch with the family of the deceased as well as the local authorities. Our officers are on the ground to render all possible assistance. We are closely monitoring the situation."

The suspect in a mall shooting in Allen, Texas, that left eight people dead and injured seven others on Saturday (local time), has been identified as 33-year-old Mauricio Garcia, CNN reported citing a senior law enforcement source familiar with the investigation.

The gunman was killed by an Allen Police Department officer who was present in the mall on an unrelated call, according to police. Investigators believe that the gunman was acting alone.

After being shot, the gunman appeared to be lying on the ground with an AR-15-style firearm nearby, as per the news report.

The senior law enforcement source said that Garcia had at least one other weapon on him in addition to the AR-15-style weapon found near him when he was fatally shot in front of the mall. Police have also recovered multiple weapons in his car.