27-year-old NRI Aishwarya Thatikonda was among nine people killed in the mass shooting at a mall in Dallas, Texas in the USA, authorities said today.
Aishwarya was killed while visiting the mall with a friend, CNN affiliate WFAA reported.
She worked as an engineer at Perfect General Contractors LLC and lived in McKinney. Her father is a district judge in Ranga Reddy district court in India. A representative of the family stated that they plan to have her body sent to India for her last rites.
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, the 33-year-old gunman, was shot dead by a police officer.
"The family got the information about (her death) yesterday. They are in shock. They have been told that efforts were being made to send her body by Wednesday," the judge's friend said.
Also Read
Texas mall shooting: Gunman identified; Biden renews call for ban on assault weapons
US gun violence: A trip to the store could mean bread, butter… bullets
Aishwarya 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.
One of the other victims was identified as 20-year-old Christian LaCour, a security guard at the mall.
According to the Gun Violence Archive, the latest shooting is one of more than 200 mass shootings in the US so far this year.
US President Joe Biden has renewed the call for a ban on assault weapons in the hands of civilians.