A 19-year-old student of Indian origin was shot dead and his 55-year-old relative was critically injured by armed robbers in Dolton, Chicago, on Dec. 28. The petrol station and the convenience store attached was owned by their family.
The youngster was identified as Arshad Vahora of south suburban Harvey, whose family hails from Gujarat. He was pronounced dead on the scene, according to Cook’s County Medical Examiner Office.
United States: 19-year-old Arshad Vora, a native of Gujarat’s Nadiad, shot dead in a robbery attempt at Dolton Gas Station in Chicago. Another relative critically injured
— ANI (@ANI) December 29, 2017
The injured man’s name hasn’t yet been released by the police. He is said to be in a critical condition at Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn.
Investigators are looking into the surveillance video footage of the shooting. No one has been taken into custody yet. A $12,000 reward has been offered by the family to help solve the shooting.
#Dolton police chief confirms 2 shot 1 killed in attempted armed robbery inside convenience store on 142nd. Victims are related; storefront is family-owned. Suspect(s) MIA. #crime #IL #Chicagoland @cbschicago @WBBMNewsradio pic.twitter.com/pzBzoRitWm
— LAUREN VICTORY (@LaurenVictory) December 28, 2017
#BREAKING: Family of Arshad Vhora, 19-year-old student killed in #Dolton gas station attempted armed robbery, along with mayor and crisis responder Andrew Holmes combine resources and announce $12,000 reward for info leading to arrest & conviction. @cbschicago @WBBMNewsradio pic.twitter.com/YLAD7kfosd
— LAUREN VICTORY (@LaurenVictory) December 28, 2017
The police said they received a 911 call from the gas station. The caller was unable to speak, the Weekend Leader reported.
“This is another act of senseless killing. As we know, it happens too often,” Abdul Vahora, a relative told the media. “He was a very intelligent kid. He was filling in for his father while his father was out of the country. His father is on his way back.”
Arshad Vahora was majoring in business at South Suburban College.
The month has seen a series of shooting incidents in the United States against Indians. A 53-year-old Indian-origin man, Karunakar R. Karengle, was killed by two attackers in Ohio’s Fairfield when they robbed a convenience store earlier this month. A 30-year-old Indian student, Mohammed Akbar, pursuing his masters degree in Chicago was injured after he was shot in his right cheek on Dec. 6.
In February this year, software engineer Srinivas Kuchibhotla, was shot at Olathe, Kansas, by a U.S. navy veteran who told Kuchibhotla and his friend at a bar to go back to their country. A few weeks after the incident, a Sikh man was shot in the arm in Kent, Washington, by a man who asked him to leave the United States and go to his “own country.”
According to FBI crime statistics, racial attacks have increased in the United States and so has gun violence. A total of 58,491 incidents of gun violence were reported across the country in 2017, according to Gun Violence Archive (GVA), a not-for-profit corporation providing public access to gun-related violence.