Indian-origin student killed by robbers in US

WASHINGTON: An Indian-origin student was shot dead during an attempted armed robbery in the US, becoming one of the latest victims of gun violence in the country. Another Indian was injured in the attack.

Arshad Vhora, 19, was shot dead on Thursday at the Clark gas station at 142nd and Langley in Dolton in Chicago, CBS News reported. Police said two people were shot during an armed robbery attempt inside the convenience store.

The second victim, who was not named, was critically wounded, police said, adding the victims are related. Vhora was filling in for a family member at the convenience store and gas station, relatives were quoted as saying by the report.

The suspects fled the scene. No one has been arrested yet. A $12,000 reward is being offered to help solve the case.

The shooting comes amid growing attacks on Indians and Americans of Indian descent in recent months. On December 15, Karunakar Karengle was killed during a robbery by two attackers in Ohio. Earlier this month, a 30-year-old Indian national pursuing his masters in Chicago was seriously injured after he was shot in the cheek.

Srinivas Kuchibhotla, a software engineer from India, was fatally shot in Olathe, Kansas, in February by a US navy veteran who had told him and his friend at a bar to go back to their country.

There were 58,491 incidents of gun violence across the country in 2017 in which 14,763 people were killed and 29,888 others injured, according to Gun Violence Archive (GVA), a not-forprofit corporation.