27-year-old Indian woman among nine killed in mass shooting incident in US
Houston, May 8: A 27-year-old Indian woman, who was working in the US as a project engineer, was among nine people killed when a gunman opened fire at a crowded mall in Dallas in Texas, authorities said on Monday.
Aishwarya Thatikonda, of McKinney, was shopping with a friend when they were shot by gunman Mauricio Garcia at the Allen Premium Outlets in Dallas, the New York Post newspaper reported.
The shooting erupted around 3:30 pm on 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, daughter of a district judge in Ranga Reddy district court in India, worked as a project engineer at Perfect General Contractors LLC.
A family representative confirmed to the WFAA television station that Thatikonda was also among the dead from the senseless gun violence.
Aishwarya had spoken to her family members before the incident on Saturday, and when they called her back after learning about the shooting they did not get any response, according to the judge's friend.
"The family got the information about (her death) on Sunday. They are in shock. They have been told that efforts were being made to send her body by Wednesday," the judge's friend said.
She was an engineer living and working in Texas while her family was in India. Her friend, who was not identified, was injured but is currently in stable condition at the hospital, the paper said.
Thatikonda's family is planning to bring her body back to India, it added.
She did her civil engineering from a college in Hyderabad in India and completed her masters in the US after which she had been working there for more than two years.
Garcia, the gunman, was shot and killed by an officer who was patrolling the area.
A Dallas home linked to Garcia's parents was searched by police Saturday night after the massacre, and officials also scoured 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."
So far there have been at least 198 mass shootings in the United States in 2023, according to the gun violence archive.
Saturday's tragedy occurred just a couple of weeks before the first anniversary of the Uvalle, Texas School massacre when 19 children and two adults were killed by a gunman at Robb Elementary School on May 24, 2022.
It comes just days after a gunman became enraged during a visit to an Atlanta medical facility, allegedly shooting dead at least one person with a handgun and injuring four others before he was caught hours later.
Saturday's incident is the second-deadliest shooting of the year in the country, after the Monterey Park, California, massacre in which a gunman killed 11 people in a ballroom on January 21.
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Strict security measures in place in Mumbai for Messi's events at 2 venues Dec 14, say police
Mumbai (PTI): In view of Argentine superstar footballer Lionel Messi's visit to Mumbai on Sunday, the city police are implementing stringent security measures, like not allowing water bottles, metals, coins inside the stadiums and setting up watchtowers to keep an eye on the crowd, officials said.
The police also said taking extra care to avoid any stampede-like situation and to prevent recurrence of the chaotic situation that unfolded in Kolkata during Messi's visit on Saturday as thousands of fans protested inside the Salt Lake stadium here after failing to catch a clear glimpse of the football icon despite paying hefty sums for tickets.
Messi is expected to be present at the Cricket Club of India (Brabourne Stadium) in Mumbai on Sunday for a Padel GOAT Cup event followed by attending a celebrity football match. He is expected to proceed to the Wankhede Stadium for the GOAT India Tour main event around 5 pm.
"In view of Lionel Messi's visit to Mumbai, the police are geared up and have put in place a high level of security arrangements in and around the stadiums located in south Mumbai. Considering the chaos that prevailed in Kolkata and the security breach, we have deployed World Cup-level security arrangements at Brabourne and Wankhede stadiums," an official said.
Expecting heavy crowd near the stadiums during Messi's visit, the city police force has deployed more than 2,000 of its personnel near and around both the venues, he said.
As the Mumbai police have the experience of security 'bandobast' during the victory parade of ICC World Cup-winning Indian team and World Cup final match at the Wankhede Stadium, in which over one lakh cricket fans had gathered, we are prepared to handle a large crowd of fans, he said.
"We are trying to avoid the errors that occurred in the past," the official said.
There is no place to sneak inside the stadiums in Mumbai like the Kolkata stadium, according to him.
The police are also asking the organisers to provide all the required facilities to the fans inside the stadium, so that there will be no chaos, he said, adding the spectators have purchased tickets in the range of Rs 5,000 to 25,000. After paying so much of amount, any spectator expects proper services, while enjoying the event, he said.
The police are expecting 33,000 spectators at the Wankhede Stadium and over 4,000 at Brabourne Stadium. Besides this, more than 30,000 people are expected outside and around the stadiums just to have a glimpse of the football sensation, he said.
The organisers responsible for Messi's India visit recently came to Mumbai to discuss security arrangements. During the meeting, the Mumbai police asked them not to take the event lightly, according to the official.
After those requirements were fulfilled, the final security deployment was chalked out, he said.
Police has the standard procedure of the security arrangements inside the Wankhede Stadium, where people are barred from taking water bottles, metals objects, coins. Police are setting up watch towers near the stadiums and there will be traffic diversions, so that there is maximum space available to stand, according to the official.
Police are also appealing to the spectators to use public transport service for commuting and avoid personal vehicles to reach south Mumbai.
To avoid any stampede-like situation, police are also taking precautionary measures and will stop the fans some distance ahead of the stadium and public announcement systems will be used to guide the crowd. Barricades will be placed at various places to manage the crowd.
In case the crowd swells up beyond expectation, the police will divert people to other grounds and preparations in this regard underway, he said.
Additional police force has been deployed in south Mumbai to tackle any kind of situation, he said.
