Aishwarya, 26, of McKinney, was shopping with a friend when they were shot by gunman Mauricio Garcia at the Allen Premium Outlets in Dallas
Houston: The Indian Consulate here has said it is helping the family of 26-year-old Aishwarya Thatikonda, killed in Saturday’s (May 6) shooting at a Texas Mall, to complete formalities to send back her body, a PTI report in The Tribune, Chandigarh, says.
It also confirmed that two other Indians were also injured in the incident,
Aishwarya, 26, 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 on Saturday, May 6, as shoppers filled the outdoor mall. At least eight people were killed in the shooting before Mauricio Garcia, a 33-year-old gunman, was shot dead by a police officer.
The daughter of a district judge in Ranga Reddy district court in Hyderabad, India, Aishwarya, , 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 Indian nationals injured in the shooting.
Aseem Mahajan, Consul General of India in Houston, told PTI that they are helping Aishwarya’s family to complete of formalities related”.
“Two other Indian nationals have been injured in the shooting incident. We are in constant touch with the local and hospital authorities, relatives of the injured and community leaders,” Mahajan said.
According to sources, one of them is in critical condition.
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 on May 18, and his family was planning a birthday party for her. She wanted to buy herself an outfit – he believes she was shopping for it on Saturday when she was killed.
A family representative confirmed to WFAA television station that Thatikonda was an engineer living and working in Texas while her family was in India. Thatikonda’s family is planning to bring her body back to India, the report said.
Garcia, the gunman, was shot and killed by an officer who was patrolling the area.
Ashok Kolla, leader of the Telugu Association of North America, is working to arrange the return of Thatikonda’s remains to India.
A Dallas home linked to Garcia’s parents was searched by police on Saturday night after the shooting and officials also searched a motel where the shooter had booked an extended stay, law-enforcement sources told local outlet WFAA-TV.
In a statement about the shooting, the mall said, “We are horrified by the senseless tragedy at Allen Premium Outlets and are outraged by the violence that continues to plague our country.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims, their families and others affected by this heinous act. We are thankful for the Allen Police Officer’s heroic actions and for the support of all the first responders.”
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