HYDERABAD: Aishwarya Thatikonda, the 27-year-old daughter of a judge of the Ranga Reddy district court, was among the nine people killed in a mass shooting at a mall in Dallas, Texas, on May 6. She was killed barely 10 days before her 28th birthday
Seven people died on the spot in what was the 201st mass shooting in the US this year. Nine of the injured were rushed to a hospital, of which two died while being treated. Aishwarya's friends told TOI that she was expected to return to Hyderabad in December with her family hoping to find her a groom.
"We have learnt that the law enforcement authorities confirmed her identity by matching her fingerprints," said a family friend living in the neighbourhood of the bereaved family's home at Saroornagar. A civil engineer from Osmania University, she had gone to the US in 2020 for a master's degree from Eastern Michigan University. Later started working for a construction firm in Frisco, Texas.
As it was a weekend, Aishwarya had gone to a mall with her friend, Shreyas Reddy. The two were standing outside the mall when the gunman stepped out of his car and started firing. Aishwarya was severely injured with some witnesses claiming that she received a hail of bullets on her face. Shreyas received three gunshot wounds and is being treated in hospital.
"We were hoping she would survive, but she succumbed to the bullets. We find it difficult to accept her death. Her family is in a state of shock," a colony resident said.
The family is trying to make arrangements for Aishwarya's mother Aruna, and father Narsi Reddy to travel to the US to bring her body home.
Telugu Association of North America (TANA) representatives Ashok Kolla and Srikanth Polavarapu are providing assistance in completing the formalities. A friend of Aishwarya’s in Hyderabad shared the news about her death on Twitter. “Her face cannot be identified due to triggered bullets on her face.
I would like you to request the US embassy to send her body to India as soon as possible,” the friend Sai Vikas tweeted. He also shared a video of Aishwarya taken when she was enjoying gulping some pani puri during her visit to Hyderabad.
Aishwarya had come home last year and was in the process of getting a H-1B visa. Aishwarya was working as a project engineer at Perfect General Contractors in Frisco and prepared digital drawings for the firm. She also coordinated on-site activities of projects, tracking costs, schedules, and quality standards.
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