Virginia store shooting kills Indian father and daughter, adds to spate of violence against diaspora in US

A father and daughter from Gujarat have been killed in a shooting at a convenience store in Virginia, an attack that has sent ripples of grief through Indian-American community in the US.

Pradeep Patel, 56, was shot dead at the scene, while his 24-year-old daughter Urmi succumbed to her injuries two days later. The shooting took place in the early hours of 20 March, shortly after the pair had opened the store for the day.

Police have arrested a suspect, identified as George Frazier Devon Wharton, though the motive behind the attack remains unclear.

The Patel family had moved to the US in 2019 on visitor visas and had since settled into the tightly-knit Gujarati convenience store network. They had taken over their current store just four months ago, after years of working in a different location around 75 kilometres away.

According to relatives, the shooting may have been premeditated. “It seems the attacker had been lurking near the store and opened fire as soon as Pradeep and Urmi arrived,” said a family member.

The case has added to growing concerns over the safety of the Indian diaspora in the US, where a spate of violent incidents in the past year or so has disproportionately affected immigrant communities.

Violence against Indian disapora in US

In the past year, several Indian and Indian-origin individuals have tragically lost their lives in the United States due to violent incidents.

In March 2024, Amarnath Ghosh, 34, a trained classical dancer and a student at Washington University, Ghosh was shot dead in St. Louis, Missouri. His death was among at least 11 Indian or Indian-origin students’ deaths in the US between January and April 2024. ​

On June 21, 2024, Dasari Gopikrishna, 32, succumbed to critical injuries during a robbery at a gas station convenience store in Pleasant Grove, Dallas, where he was working at the billing desk. He was reportedly killed in the shooting incident.​

In August 2024, news outlets reported the death of Mainank Patel, the owner of a tobacco store in North Carolina. Patel was shot and killed during a robbery by a teenage suspect.

On January 19, 2025, Raviteja Koyyada, 26, a resident of Hamden and an alumnus of Sacred Heart University, Koyyada was shot and killed while delivering food in New Haven, Connecticut. Originally from Hyderabad, India, he had recently celebrated his 26th birthday and was engaged, with plans to relocate his parents to the US.

With inputs from agencies