New Delhi:
A 24-year-old Indian woman and her 56-year-old father were shot dead at a departmental store in Virginia, US, where they had been working. The shooting took place on Thursday, shortly after the store in Accomack County opened.
Police have arrested George Frazier Devon Wharton (44) for the double murder. According to reports, the accused reached the store early Thursday morning to buy liquor and asked why the store was shut at night. He then opened fire at the father-daughter duo. While Pradeep Patel died on the spot, his daughter Urmi succumbed to her injuries at the hospital.
Pradeep Patel, his wife Hansaben and their daughter Urmi are from Gujarat’s Mehsana district and moved to the US six years ago. They had been working at the convenience store owned by a relative, Paresh Patel. Speaking to WAVY TV in Virginia, Paresh Patel said the two victims were his family members. “My cousin’s wife and her dad were working this morning. Some guy came here and just shot. I don’t know what to do,” he said. Pradeep Patel and Hansaben have two more daughters — one lives in Canada, the other in Ahmedabad.
Accused Wharton has been charged with first-degree murder and other sections, including felony and arms laws.
The tragic incident has shocked the Patels’ relatives back in Mehsana. Pradip Patel’s uncle Chandu Patel said he went to the US about 6-7 years back. “We knew from local media reports and a viral video that they were shot dead. We spoke to his daughter and she told us everything,” he said.
The double murder has shocked the Indian community in the US. It comes months after Mainank Patel, a 36-year-old Indian-origin man running a convenience store in North Carolina, was shot dead during a robbery on the premises.
Inputs by Mahendra Prasad