Who Was Savitha Shan, the Indian American Student Killed in Texas Shootings?
One of her assistant professors, Russ Finney, had also paid tribute to her posthumously on Twitter and described her as a “superstar student”
The regularity of mass shootings in the United States is as frequent as it is heartbreaking. In the recent shooting at the Buford's backyard beer garden in the West Sixth Street in Austin, Texas, a 21-year-old American student with Indian origins was identified to be a victim of this heinous open fire.
The victim's name is Savitha Shan, a 21 year old student at the University of Texas at Austin. She was doing a dual degree majoring in Economics and Management Information Systems at McCombs School of Business and the College of Liberal Arts. One of her assistant professors, Russ Finney, had also paid tribute to her posthumously on Twitter and described her as a “superstar student”.
“Savitha was one of our superstar students at the UT Austin McCombs school of business- she was set to graduate this May, and then she was on to start her career at a big professional services firm. She was a double major with honors. Involved in student organizations- a light in the classroom. Absolutely crushing to lose her.”, he said.
In his tweet, he also mentioned that the location was considered pretty safe by their students.
According to AP, Nathan Comeaux, a 22-year-old senior, who has witnessed this shooting has said that the bar was “full of college students, probably mostly UT kids, shoulder to shoulder, hundreds just enjoying their nights.”, however when he left the bar to grab pizza, that’s when he first heard the gunshots. He also said that, “The UT community has definitely been majorly affected by this.”
Aside from Savitha, the killed victims were Ryder Harrington, 19 and Jorge Pederson, 30, who was a rising Mixed martial arts fighter. Fourteen other people were also found to be severely injured and hospitalized.
The suspect who was identified as Ndiaga Diagne was shot by the local Austin Police. He was apparently seen wearing a sweatshirt featuring an Iranian flag and the words “Property Of Allah” printed on it. Austin Police Chief Lisa Davis has said that the suspect drove past the bar numerous times before stopping and shooting from the window of his SUV at people on a patio and in front of the bar.
Later, he parked and exited his vehicle, and with a rifle in his hand he began to shoot at random people who were walking in the street, before the police officers rushed and shot him.
The FBI and local police who are investigating have also speculated that the motive behind this shooting might be an act of terrorism because it had taken place just one day after US and Israel had started an attack on Iran and killed its Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. However, Alex Doran from the FBI's San Antonio office has said that it’s still too soon to make a determination on that.
The United States Department of Homeland Security has provided some intel on the whereabouts of the suspect. Ndiaga Diagne was initially a citizen of Senegal. But in the year 2000 he entered into the USA and became a legal citizen six years after marrying a U.S citizen. Diagne’s social media posts have also revealed his anti-Semitic and racist comments.
In one such post he has mentioned that, “The Islamic Revolution is eternal and here to stay until the end of time. You Zionist and Islamophobes can be angry all you want but you can’t do a damn thing about it, no matter what.”
The Indian - American Community was also equally horrified by this incident. The Local Community leaders have joined together with the local authorities to support Shan’s family and other affected people.
This Article is Written by Yoga Adithya, an Intern at Deccan Chronicle.