Indian-origin woman killed in California after months of stalking, says DHS

A 38-year-old Indian-origin woman was shot dead outside a restaurant in the US state of California, and the man accused of killing her was a 22-year-old from India who had allegedly stalked her for months, according to the US Department of Homeland Security.

The incident took place on September 8 at a shopping centre in Sacramento. Officials said the accused, identified as Rohit, fled in his vehicle after the shooting. Authorities later found that he had died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

According to DHS, Rohit, described as an undocumented immigrant from India, approached Shalini Thakur at her car. When she tried to run away, he chased her, pulled out a gun and shot her multiple times. After she fell to the ground, he shot her again in the head at close range before fleeing, the department said.

Fox40.com quoted the Sacramento County Coroner's Office as saying that authorities tried to call the driver out of the car before discovering that he had died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. A DHS spokesperson said Rohit had entered the United States through Arizona in 2023 and was arrested by the US Border Patrol before being released by the Biden administration. The exact details of his immigration status were not immediately clear as of Friday.

Further investigation found that Rohit had been harassing and stalking Thakur since at least January, after she discovered an Apple AirTag under the bonnet of her car. The report said he had also deflated the air in her car tyres and followed her to work so that he could offer her help. Authorities also said he had obtained a copy of her apartment key and entered her home while she was asleep. The case centres on the killing of Thakur outside a Sacramento restaurant and the allegations that she had been stalked for months before the shooting.