Indian student from AP shot dead in US on X-mas

Houston, Dec 26: Once again Indian student became the target of agitation in a foreign country. This time, it is not in Australia but it's in California in US. During a robbery, a 22-year-old Indian student hailing from Andhra Pradesh was shot dead early on Christmas morning on Dec 25.

The victim, Jayachandra Elaprolu, who worked part time as a clark, was shot five times and was found dead when the police arrived on to the scene.

The manager of the store, Ali Kahn informed that Elaprolu had been working at the store for less than a month.

A video of the CCTV footage obtained by the police showed a man in a ski mask entering the Conoco gas station at about 2:20 am (local time), before shooting the clerk and taking away the cash register.

Police distributed surveillance video from the store to local media outlets in an attempt to find witnesses, local media reported.

As the assailant confronted him, Elaprolu managed to get behind a door that led to a small office behind the counter, but he appears to have been shot through the door, according to police.

Police said that investigators were surprised by the ferocity of the gunman who appears to walk in with a 9 mm semiautomatic pistol in hand and starts shooting.

"To actually see the suspect enter a store and engage in gunfire is a unique circumstance... He's a very violent individual, and the sooner we apprehend him, the better," he said.

While the shooter is described as a 5 feet 10 inches to 6 feet tall man between 220 and 250 pounds, police have named another person who was seen leaving the store seconds before the shooting incident.

Police said the second man, who did not appear to be having a weapon, could either be an accomplice of the attacker or a witness to the case.

The video showed the gunman pulling the cash register off the counter and hauling it out, snapping an attached cord as he left.

A woman who entered the store about a minute and half after the incident found the clerk hit by bullets and she called the police.

OneIndia News
(With inputs from PTI)