Virginia retailer taking pictures kills Indian father and daughter, provides to spate of violence towards diaspora in US

A father and daughter from Gujarat have been killed in a taking pictures at a comfort retailer in Virginia, an assault that has despatched ripples of grief by Indian-American neighborhood within the US.

Pradeep Patel, 56, was shot lifeless on the scene, whereas his 24-year-old daughter Urmi succumbed to her accidents two days later. The taking pictures occurred within the early hours of 20 March, shortly after the pair had opened the shop for the day.

Police have arrested a suspect, recognized as George Frazier Devon Wharton, although the motive behind the assault stays unclear.

The Patel household had moved to the US in 2019 on customer visas and had since settled into the tightly-knit Gujarati comfort retailer community. That they had taken over their present retailer simply 4 months in the past, after years of working in a distinct location round 75 kilometres away.

In accordance with family members, the taking pictures might have been premeditated. “It appears the attacker had been lurking close to the shop and opened hearth as quickly as Pradeep and Urmi arrived,” stated a member of the family.

The case has added to rising issues over the security of the Indian diaspora within the US, the place a spate of violent incidents up to now 12 months or so has disproportionately affected immigrant communities.

Violence towards Indian disapora in US

Previously 12 months, a number of Indian and Indian-origin people have tragically misplaced their lives in america attributable to violent incidents.

In March 2024, Amarnath Ghosh, 34, a skilled classical dancer and a scholar at Washington College, Ghosh was shot lifeless in St. Louis, Missouri. His dying was amongst at the least 11 Indian or Indian-origin college students’ deaths within the US between January and April 2024. ​

On June 21, 2024, Dasari Gopikrishna, 32, succumbed to vital accidents throughout a theft at a fuel station comfort retailer in Nice Grove, Dallas, the place he was working on the billing desk. He was reportedly killed within the taking pictures incident.​

In August 2024, information shops reported the dying of Mainank Patel, the proprietor of a tobacco retailer in North Carolina. Patel was shot and killed throughout a theft by a teenage suspect.

On January 19, 2025, Raviteja Koyyada, 26, a resident of Hamden and an alumnus of Sacred Coronary heart College, Koyyada was shot and killed whereas delivering meals in New Haven, Connecticut. Initially from Hyderabad, India, he had not too long ago celebrated his twenty sixth birthday and was engaged, with plans to relocate his dad and mom to the US.

With inputs from companies