Houston: The Indian Consulate here has said it is helping the family of 26-year-old Aishwarya Thatikonda, who was killed in a mass shooting incident at a mall in Dallas, in facilitating the completion of requisite formalities to take her mortal remains home and also confirmed that two Indians were injured.
Aishwarya, of McKinney, was shopping with a friend when they were shot by gunman Mauricio Garcia at the Allen Premium Outlets in Dallas.
The shooting erupted around 3:30 pm 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.
Aishwarya, the daughter of a district judge in Ranga Reddy district court in India, worked as a project engineer at Perfect General Contractors LLC.
Indian Consulate in Houston is in touch with the families of Aishwarya and other two injured Indian nationals, who were not identified.
Aseem Mahajan, Consul General of India in Houston told PTI that they are helping Aishwarya’s family in facilitating the completion of requisite formalities related to the 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 and hospital authorities, relatives of the injured and community leaders,” Mahajan said.
“We express our deep condolences to the family of Aishwarya Thatikonda who died in the tragic shooting incident in Allen, Texas 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,” India in Houston tweeted.
According to sources, one of them is in critical condition.
Consulate officials are in Dallas to render all possible assistance.
According to Srinivas Chaluvadi, Aishwarya’s supervisor, she was loved and adored by all, “not because she was killed under tragic circumstances, but because of who she was personally.”
She would have turned 27 May 18, and his family was planning a birthday party for her. She wanted to buy her an outfit – he believes she was shopping for it Saturday when she was killed.
Ashok Kolla, leader of the Telugu Association of North America, is working to arrange the return of Thatikonda’s remains to India.
Other victims include a young family and two primary school-going sisters.
Seven others injured with multiple gunshot wounds are still in the hospital.
The crime is still being investigated as more information becomes known about the people who died at the Allen Premium Outlets mall.
Thatikonda moved to the United States about five years ago to pursue her master’s degree. She graduated from Eastern Michigan University in 2020.
“We were deeply saddened to learn this morning that an Eastern Michigan University graduate, Aishwarya Thatikonda, was among those killed in Saturday’s shooting at a mall outside of Dallas, Texas,” the university said in a statement.
“As the nation has to once again grapple with a senseless act of gun violence, we share our condolences with Aishwarya’s family and friends,” the school added. “She will forever be remembered as a strong Eastern Michigan University Eagle.”
PTI
