Indian student death: Police confirm suspect died in shootout
New York, July 17: Police in the US have confirmed that the man shot dead in a shootout in Kansas City was the suspect in the killing of Indian student Sharat Koppu, who was from Telangana.
Kansas City police chief Rick Smith told reporters on Monday that they identified the man killed in Sunday's confrontation with police as Marlin Mack, 25, who was seen in the surveillance video from the shooting of Koppu at a restaurant on July 1, according to KCNB television.
Three police officers were injured in two separate shootings involving Mack on Sunday and he was killed in a third one.
KCNB reported that Mack had a criminal history and was released from prison last year. He appeared to be of African descent from the picture released by police.
Police said they received about 40 tips about him, eight of which led to him on Sunday. A $10,000-reward had been announced for information leading to the capture of the suspect in the Indian student's killing.
Koppu, who had come to the US in January and was doing his Masters in computer science at the University of Missouri-Kansas City, was shot dead at a restaurant during what appeared to be a robbery.
According to KCNB, Koppu's cousin Raghu Chowdavaram thanked the police for following up the case.
"The family would like to express their gratitude to the police officers who risked their lives in pursuing this case. We are disheartened to hear that they're injured, and we're praying for a speedy and full recovery," said Chowdavaram.
The three officers were recovering in a hospital
According to police, when two undercover police went to the motel where the suspect was seen, he shot and wounded them before fleeing with another person.
When police tracked him down to a house in the area, he shot another officer there. As many as 50 gun shots were heard during the confrontation, the Star reported.
When the man came out of the house, there was more exchange of gunfire and he was killed, the newspaper reported.
According to reports, Mack was sentenced in 2011 to seven years in prison for robbery and assault but was released in 2015.
Soon after, he was convicted of burglary and sentenced to four years, but released after two years.
The Kansas City where Koppu was killed is in Missouri state. There is also a Kansas City in Kansas state where two Indian engineers from Telangana were attacked at a restaurant in Olathe last year. One of them was killed by a white man while the other was critically injured.
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Putin in close contact with Gulf leaders to facilitate de-escalation: Kremlin
Moscow (PTI): Russian President Vladimir Putin is making all possible efforts to de-escalate the crisis in the Gulf and is in close contact with the regional leaders as Iran is retaliating with massive strikes on the US facilities and infrastructure on their territories, the Kremlin said on Tuesday.
The US and Israel launched joint strikes against Iran on Saturday, assassinating 86-year-old Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, alongside family members, including his daughter and grandchildren. Since then, Iran has targeted multiple US bases in the surrounding Gulf States.
"Putin will certainly make every effort to facilitate at least a minor easing of tensions. In this regard, we discussed with virtually all of our interlocutors yesterday," the Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
"Taking advantage of the dialogue we maintain with the Iranian leadership, (President) Putin will convey his deep concern regarding the strikes on their infrastructure to our colleagues in Iran," he added.
According to the Kremlin, Putin spoke by telephone with leaders of Bahrain, Qatar, the UAE, and Saudi Arabia.
In his telephonic conversation with Crown Prince and Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Mohammed bin Salman, Putin discussed the escalating situation in the region as a result of the American-Israeli armed aggression against Iran.
“Both sides expressed serious concern over the real risks of escalation of the conflict, which has already affected several Arab countries and is fraught with catastrophic consequences. In this context, Vladimir Putin underscored the urgent need to resolve the current extremely dangerous situation through political and diplomatic means,” the Kremlin said.
On Monday, Putin also had telephonic contacts with the King of Bahrain, Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, who currently chairs the Gulf Cooperation Council, Emir of the State of Qatar, Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, and President of the United Arab Emirates, Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan.
“Exchange of views was held regarding the unprecedented escalation around Iran as a result of US and Israeli aggression, which is bringing the entire region to the brink of a full-scale war with unpredictable consequences. Sides underscored the need for a swift cessation of hostilities to prevent the situation from spiralling completely out of control and to return it to a political and diplomatic framework,” the Kremlin said.
The current developments, in particular, threaten the security of many Arab states with which Russia maintains friendly relations.
Given this, President Putin reaffirmed Russia's readiness to use all available means to actively contribute to stabilising the situation in the region, the Kremlin said, adding that contacts with the Gulf leaders will continue.
