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Aishwarya Thatikonda, a 28-year-old Indian girl, was identified as one of the eight victims who were killed in the mass shooting that took place in Texas on Sunday, May 6, 2023. Police identified the suspected shooter as Mauricio Garcia, who was fatally shot down by a cop at the shooting site. CNN dubbed the shooting that took place at the Allen Premium Outlets in Allen, Texas, as one of the deadliest shootings in the US in 2023.
Police confirmed that apart from Aishwarya Thatikonda, the other victims are currently receiving medical treatment for their injuries. The shooting killed nine people, including the gunman, and left seven others injured. One of the victims of the shooting at the Allen Premium Outlets mall included a friend of Aishwarya, who is currently in a stable condition.
Authorities confirmed that Aishwarya’s body is expected to be sent to her family in Hyderabad in India. While police are yet to confirm the motive behind the fatal shooting in Allen, Texas, according to CNN, investigators believe that the shooting may have been motivated by right-wing extremism. According to the Gun Violence Archive, the US has already faced around 200 mass shootings across the country.
The fatal Texas mass shooting at Allen Mall killed a 27-year-old Indian engineer Aishwarya Thatikonda
Aishwarya Thatikonda was a 27-year-old engineer from Hyderabad, India. She was one of the victims of the mass shooting that took place in a mall in Allen, Texas on Saturday, May 6, 2023.
Thatikonda was an engineer and resided in McKinney, Texas. She reportedly was at the mall with a friend who had suffered injuries during the shooting but is currently stable.
As mentioned earlier, Aishwarya’s family resides in Hyderabad, and they have confirmed that her body will be sent back to India. The victim is the daughter of Additional District Judge Thatikonda Narsireddy, who currently works at the Ranga Reddy District Commercial Courts complex.
Sai Vikas, a close friend of Thatikonda expressed his deepest sympathies for the 27-year-old engineer’s death. He said that Aishwarya and a friend went to the mall to shop when they heard an unexpected breakout of gunfire. Vikas added that Aishwarya and their other friend were both shot. While the former lost her life, the latter was shot three times and is still undergoing treatment.
Thatikonda has been described as being a brilliant student while she was in college
Aishwarya Thatikonda was working as a project engineer with Perfect General Contractors LLC and was Sai Vikas’s classmate since the ninth grade. The other friend who got injured in the shooting was identified as Shreyash Reddy. Vikas stated that the three of them have been close friends since they were in school.
He spoke about Aishwarya and said that she was like a "leader for all the girls" in their class and would address all the girls' problems at school and in college.
Vikas also addressed the horrific mass shooting and revealed that the gunshots on the victim’s face were so bad that it was difficult to recognize her. Vikas pleaded with both the Telangana Minister KT Rama Rao and the US Embassy to transport Aishwarya Thatikonda’s mortal remains back to India. The request was heard and reportedly taken care of.
Aishwarya’s former professors at MVSR College of Engineering revealed their fondness for the 27-year-old. Dr R. Prashant Kumar, the coordinator of the civil-engineering students association stated that Aishwarya was a brilliant student and that she was also active in several co-curricular activities in college.
Three of the victims of the shooting, that killed Aishwarya Thatikonda, are in critical condition.
