A 27-year-old woman from Hyderabad was among the nine individuals who were shot dead by a gunman in Texas, US, on Sunday. She was working as a project manager with a private company in Dallas and was out shopping at a mall with her friend when the man opened fire at a crowd.
Aishwarya Thatikonda, a resident of Saroornagar in Hyderabad and a daughter of a judicial officer in Ranga Reddy district court, was staying in Dallas, Texas while working as an engineer. Following a tweet by her friend in Hyderabad, IT Minister K.T. Rama Rao’s office has assured to provide assistance in bringing the body back.
Reports confirmed that Aishwarya was among those killed when the accused, identified as Mauricio Garcia, carrying a gun had fired at a crowd at Allen Premium Outlets mall in Texas.
Her friend Sai Vikas said that Aishwarya was out with a friend and a roommate, Sreyas Reddy, and shopping at the mall. “Aishwarya, Sreyas and I have been friends since school. I was told by my friends that Sreyas was wounded in the shooting and is out of danger after the doctors removed two bullets from his body,” said Vikas.
He is among the seven people being treated at the hospital of whom three are said to be critical, as per reports.
Garcia, who is from Dallas, fired at shoppers at the Allen Premium Outlets mall, in the north Dallas suburbs with an AR-15, a lightweight, magazine-fed, gas-operated semi-automatic assault rifle, around 3.30 p.m., before he was shot dead by a police officer responding to a different call in the vicinity. The investigators suspect he may have had far-right links, as suggested by a clothing patch he wore. “The patch bore the letters RWDS, standing for Right Wing Death Squad – believed to be a neo-Nazi group,” reports said.
Meanwhile, Sai Vikas took to Twitter to seek help from the Telangana government and the US Embassy and the post has been gaining traction from the netizens urging the government to intervene. “It is my friend Aishwarya Tatikonda who died in Texas mass shooting. Her father is a judge in Ranga Reddy Court. Her face cannot be identified due to triggered bullets on her face. I would like you to request the US embassy to send her body to India as soon as possible,” he tweeted.
“An official from Mr.Rama Rao’s team called me on Monday night and asked me for Aishwarya’s passport-size photo and Aadhaar card details. They said they will be trying to approach the NRI department and give me updates on the delivery date of her body,” said Sai Vikas.
Aishwarya Thatikonda completed her bachelor’s in civil engineering from Osmania University and pursued her MS in construction management from Eastern Michigan University.
