Washington: In a weekend ritual in thousands of homes across India, parents and family members wait or call their children and siblings in the US for a mutual good. and so it was on saturday when Aishwarya Thatikonda Called home from Texas to talk to his father T Narsee Reddy, a sessions judge in Ranga Reddy district in Telangana.
a few hours later, as News of another mass shootingAmerica’s distress, flashed on the television screen, Reddy calls her back, concerned that the incident took place in an outlet mall, she told her mother that she would be here a few hours earlier with friend Shreyas. no response. she died at the young age of 27Eight victims, including a five-year-old boy, buried in a pile outside the Premium Outlet Mall in Allen, Texas, where she was shopping with a friend, survived gunshot wounds.
The shooter, later identified as Mauricio Garcia, a neo-Nazi extremist, lay nearby in a pool of blood, brought down by a cop who was at the mall on another call. According to local news media, Garcia was working as a security guard after being dismissed from the military over mental health concerns.
America’s mass shooting epidemic, now universally seen as an ugly blot on the country, has struck a home in India, sending thousands of students and white-collar workers to the United States every year. A colleague who recently visited India told this correspondent that there is now a real apprehension among many Indian parents about sending their children to America to study; They are looking at alternative options such as Canada and Australia, which are considered safer.
Like so many young graduates from India, Aishwarya came to the US after pursuing a bachelor’s degree (in civil engineering at Osmania University) in Hyderabad, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering in 2018, and a master’s degree in construction management from Eastern Michigan University achieved. in Ypsilanti. She found work soon after graduating as a project engineer with Perfect General Contractors LLC, a firm in Frisco, Texas, 20 minutes from McKinney, all three outer suburbs of the Greater Dallas area.
According to friends posting on social media, Aishwarya has come to India in 2022 for her brother’s wedding and her parents were hoping to get married later this year. A local news outlet said she was shopping at the mall for her 28th birthday later this month, which she will never see.
Unseen even among gun-lovers, including a majority of Republicans, is the chorus for gun control legislation in a country that appears to be attuned to mass shootings, of which there are now more than one a day (198 in 2023 alone). Are. Respond with “thoughts and prayers” and blame the mental health of criminals rather than the easy availability of guns, without which such massacres would occur.
Among other pro-gun moves in recent months, Texas enacted a law in 2011 allowing “open carry” of hand guns without a permit, license or training. In a 2015 post, state governor Greg Abbott tweeted, “I’m embarrassed: Texas #2 in the nation for new gun purchases behind California. Let’s get Texans up to speed.”
On Sunday, Abbott blamed anger stemming from a mental health crisis in Allen for the carnage. “One thing that we can see very easily is that there has been a dramatic increase in the amount of anger and violence that is happening in America and what Texas is doing, in a big way, we are working to address that anger. And violence to the root cause of it, which is addressing the mental health crisis behind it,” he told Fox News, which largely and faithfully relays the pro-gun messaging of Republicans. In 2022, Texas ranked last in the nation in overall access to mental health care, according to data analyzed by Mental Health America cited by the Los Angeles Times.
The only message Abbott posted over the latest carnage read: The hearts of all Texans are with Allen, Texas. Tonight, I join my fellow Texans in Allen for a community awareness for the innocent people killed last night and those recovering from injuries. As this community heals, Texas will be with you every step of the way.”
It was a meaningless feeling for a family in Telangana who lost their daughter.
Watch Indian woman killed, friend injured in Texas mall shooting incident in US, relatives want to bring body
a few hours later, as News of another mass shootingAmerica’s distress, flashed on the television screen, Reddy calls her back, concerned that the incident took place in an outlet mall, she told her mother that she would be here a few hours earlier with friend Shreyas. no response. she died at the young age of 27Eight victims, including a five-year-old boy, buried in a pile outside the Premium Outlet Mall in Allen, Texas, where she was shopping with a friend, survived gunshot wounds.
The shooter, later identified as Mauricio Garcia, a neo-Nazi extremist, lay nearby in a pool of blood, brought down by a cop who was at the mall on another call. According to local news media, Garcia was working as a security guard after being dismissed from the military over mental health concerns.
America’s mass shooting epidemic, now universally seen as an ugly blot on the country, has struck a home in India, sending thousands of students and white-collar workers to the United States every year. A colleague who recently visited India told this correspondent that there is now a real apprehension among many Indian parents about sending their children to America to study; They are looking at alternative options such as Canada and Australia, which are considered safer.
Like so many young graduates from India, Aishwarya came to the US after pursuing a bachelor’s degree (in civil engineering at Osmania University) in Hyderabad, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering in 2018, and a master’s degree in construction management from Eastern Michigan University achieved. in Ypsilanti. She found work soon after graduating as a project engineer with Perfect General Contractors LLC, a firm in Frisco, Texas, 20 minutes from McKinney, all three outer suburbs of the Greater Dallas area.
According to friends posting on social media, Aishwarya has come to India in 2022 for her brother’s wedding and her parents were hoping to get married later this year. A local news outlet said she was shopping at the mall for her 28th birthday later this month, which she will never see.
Unseen even among gun-lovers, including a majority of Republicans, is the chorus for gun control legislation in a country that appears to be attuned to mass shootings, of which there are now more than one a day (198 in 2023 alone). Are. Respond with “thoughts and prayers” and blame the mental health of criminals rather than the easy availability of guns, without which such massacres would occur.
Among other pro-gun moves in recent months, Texas enacted a law in 2011 allowing “open carry” of hand guns without a permit, license or training. In a 2015 post, state governor Greg Abbott tweeted, “I’m embarrassed: Texas #2 in the nation for new gun purchases behind California. Let’s get Texans up to speed.”
On Sunday, Abbott blamed anger stemming from a mental health crisis in Allen for the carnage. “One thing that we can see very easily is that there has been a dramatic increase in the amount of anger and violence that is happening in America and what Texas is doing, in a big way, we are working to address that anger. And violence to the root cause of it, which is addressing the mental health crisis behind it,” he told Fox News, which largely and faithfully relays the pro-gun messaging of Republicans. In 2022, Texas ranked last in the nation in overall access to mental health care, according to data analyzed by Mental Health America cited by the Los Angeles Times.
The only message Abbott posted over the latest carnage read: The hearts of all Texans are with Allen, Texas. Tonight, I join my fellow Texans in Allen for a community awareness for the innocent people killed last night and those recovering from injuries. As this community heals, Texas will be with you every step of the way.”
It was a meaningless feeling for a family in Telangana who lost their daughter.
Watch Indian woman killed, friend injured in Texas mall shooting incident in US, relatives want to bring body