Texas man arrested for fatal shooting of Indian student during violent rampage

A Texas man has been arrested for fatally shooting an Indian student at a gas station Friday night before going on a rampage.

The Fort Worth Police Department responded to a call at around 8:45 p.m. from a gas station in the 1400 block of Eastchase Parkway after reports of a staff member being shot.

Twenty-eight-year-old Chandrashekar Pole from Hyderabad in Telangana state was pronounced dead at the scene, police said.

Florez drove away from the scene and, about a mile away, allegedly fired shots at an occupied vehicle and rammed into it several times in a night of frenzy. No injuries were reported.

Shortly after, Florez allegedly rammed through a metal gate at a residence on Meadowbrook Drive and attempted to enter the home. No residents were injured during the attempted break-in.

Police said they arrived at the residence after a 911 call and arrested Florez, recovering a gun from inside his vehicle.

Officer Brad Perez, a Fort Worth police spokesperson, said he was taken to hospital for injuries and booked for homicide.

Police said an investigation is ongoing and the motive behind the shooting has not yet been determined.

A GoFundMe has been set up to raise money to send Pole’s body to India “so his parents can see him one last time and perform his final rites”, the page said. It has so far raised around $51,000 (£38,000).

Describing him as “full of dreams, hope and determination to make his family proud”, the page said: “Our hearts are shattered as we share the heartbreaking loss of our dear friend Chandrashekar Pole.”

He completed his bachelor of dental surgery in Hyderabad and gone to the U.S. in 2023 to pursue a master’s degree in data analytics at the University of North Texas, Denton. He completed his course in April and was job-hunting while working part-time at the gas station.

Satish Reddy, president-elect of the American Telugu Association, that is said to be making efforts for repatriation of his remains, said: “It’s not just a loss for one family, it’s a loss for the community”.

He said he expects the body to leave on a flight to India Wednesday evening.

It was the latest attack that has heightened fears within the Indian-American community amid a broader surge in anti-Indian sentiment and xenophobic incidents earlier in the year.

In September, president Donald Trump vowed justice after the beheading of an Indian-origin hotel manager in Texas, saying the suspect in the case will be prosecuted to the “fullest extent” of the law.

Chandra Mouli Nagamallaiah, 50, was beheaded by an edged weapon at a motel in Dallas after an argument with his co-worker, police say. Cuban national Yordanis Cobos-Martinez, 37, was arrested and charged with murder.

In March, classical dancer Amarnath Ghosh, 34, was shot and killed in St Louis, Missouri. The homicide investigation led by the St Louis Metropolitan Police Department is ongoing.

IT executive Vivek Taneja, 41, of Alexandria, Virginia, died from his injuries days after being struck in the head outside a restaurant on February 2, according to Washington DC Metropolitan Police. Charges are pending against an unidentified suspect.

Some Indian students have linked the deaths to increased threats and discrimination.

The Indian Embassy held virtual sessions in February for students on wellbeing and how to remain in touch with the diaspora, meetings that took on new meaning following the deaths, according to NDTV. Students from 90 universities took part in the session led by ambassador Sripriya Ranganathan and attended by consul generals in Atlanta, Chicago, Houston, New York, San Francisco, and Seattle.

There are around 4.4 million Indian-Americans, and 268,923 Indian students came to the U.S. for the 2022-2023 academic year. Several thousands more people come from India to the US on work visas.