New Delhi: External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Tuesday said he is closely tracking the matter of the death of a 27-year-old Indian woman in the Texas mall shooting, and the Indian Consulate in Houston is rendering all assistance to the family of the deceased. Two Indian nationals were also injured in the incident.
In a tweet, he said:
Closely tracking this and taking regular updates from Ambassador @SandhuTaranjitS.
“Consulate is rendering all necessary assistance to the bereaved family and to those injured.”
Aishwarya Thatikonda, 27, was among the eight people killed when a gun-wielding man opened fire at shoppers outside a mall in Dallas area in the US on Saturday. Her Indian friend who accompanied her to the mall is among those injured in the shooting.
The Indian Consulate in Houston said it is facilitating the completion of formalities to bring her body back to India.
“Consulate is facilitating completion of requisite formalities with regard to mortal remains of the deceased.
“Two other Indian nationals have been injured in the tragic shooting incident.
“We are in constant touch with the local & hospital authorities, relatives of the injured and community leaders. Consulate officials are in Dallas to render all possible assistance,” it said.
Aishwarya worked as a project manager in Frisco based Perfect General Contractors LLC in Texas and lived in the Dallas suburb of McKinney.
She hailed from Hyderabad and came to the US for her Masters from Eastern Michigan University after completing her bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from Osmania University.
Aishwarya was on a work visa. Her family hails from Saroornagar in Hyderabad.
Her father Narsi Reddy works as a judge in Rangareddy district court in Hyderabad.
Her boss Srinivas Chaluvadi told NBC News that the identification of her body was delayed because “her face was mutilated, totally unrecognizable”. “It’s a grief I’ve never experienced. I pray that this situation doesn’t happen to anybody,” he said.
Ashok Kolla, leader with the Telugu Association of North America, said they are working to arrange the return of Thatikonda’s remains to India.
The 33-year-old shooter was shot and killed by a police officer who was nearby responding to an unrelated call.
Police are now investigating whether the attacker was motivated by right-wing extremist ideology.
Mauricio Garcia, 33, was identified as the shooter who drove to the Allen Premium Outlets on Saturday afternoon and opened fire on innocent shoppers with an AR-15-style rifle.
