US: Hyderabad district judge’s daughter among 9 killed in mass shooting at Texas mall

A 27-year-old woman, Aishwarya Thatikonda, from Hyderabad was among the nine people killed when a gunman opened fire at a crowded mall in Dallas in the US state of Texas.

Aishwarya, daughter of a district judge in Ranga Reddy district court, was working in Texas as a project engineer and she has been living in the US since the past five years.

Aishwarya's family stays at Saroornagar in Hyderabad. In terms of her qualification, she had done civil engineering from a college in the city and completed her Masters in the US after which she had been working there for more than two years.

Before the incident, Aishwarya had spoken to her family members and when they called her back after knowing about the shooting they did not receive any response, according to the judge's friend.

 "The family got the information about (her death) on Sunday. They are in a shock. They have been told that efforts were being made to send her body by Wednesday," the judge's friend said.

The incident happened when Aishwarya was shopping with a friend when they were shot by the gunman at the Allen Premium Outlets in Dallas, the New York Post newspaper reported. The shooting erupted around 3.30 PM on Saturday as throngs of shoppers filled the outdoor mall. The 33-year-old gunman was shot dead by a police officer, the report said.

Aishwarya had visited Hyderabad in December 2022 to attend her elder brother Srikanth Reddy’s marriage.

Besides Aishwarya, a young security guard suffered majorly due to the deadly shooting at a shopping mall near Dallas, Texas. Christian LaCour, a 20-year-old security guard, was on duty when the shooting took place.

Also Read: Ban diesel four-wheeler vehicles by 2027, suggests govt panel