New York : A 38-year-old Indian-origin woman was chased and shot dead outside a restaurant in California’s Sacramento on Tuesday. The victim, Shalini Thakur, was being dropped off at work at a shopping plaza in Sacramento’s Arden Arcade area, when the suspect, identified as Rohit, approached and confronted her, according to the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office.
After she fell, he fired another shot at her head at close range. Officers responding to reports of the shooting around 3 pm found Shalini unresponsive outside a Panera Bread restaurant in the 800 block of Howe Avenue. Medics pronounced her dead at the scene. Witnesses provided cops with a description of the suspect’s vehicle, which was entered into the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office’s automated licence plate reader system.
The vehicle’s last known location was soon obtained. The car was located minutes later on eastbound Highway 50. When officers attempted to pull the vehicle over, Rohit slammed on the brakes and stopped on the highway, Gandhi said. The California Highway Patrol subsequently closed all eastbound lanes because of police activity. KCRA Channel 3 footage showed the suspect’s vehicle surrounded by sheriff’s vehicles, including an armoured tactical vehicle, with cops holding their weapons drawn.
Kumari has recalled her final conversation with her only child, who was fatally shot outside a Panera Bread in Sacramento. Speaking to KCRA 3, Kumari said she was left devastated and questioned whether more could have been done to protect her daughter. Thakur told her mother she would call back within 15 minutes, but never did. Kumari, whose husband died two years ago, showed a series of unanswered calls and WhatsApp messages, including “Please call me” and “I am worried about you.”
