SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A 38-year-old Indian-origin woman was shot dead outside a restaurant in Sacramento, California, on Tuesday by a man who had allegedly stalked her for months, before the suspect died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound following a police standoff.
The victim, Shalini Thakur, was ambushed at the Arden Arcade shopping centre. According to the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office, the suspect, identified as 22-year-old Rohit, had been obsessively harassing Thakur since at least January. Witnesses provided law enforcement with a description of the suspect’s vehicle shortly after the attack, leading deputies to locate the car on eastbound Highway 50 near Watt Avenue. When deputies attempted a traffic stop, Rohit pulled over on the freeway, initiating a standoff that brought traffic to a standstill for hours before authorities found him dead inside the vehicle.
Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Sergeant Amar Gandhi stated that while the two had known each other for a couple of years, Rohit’s behavior escalated into a dangerous fixation earlier this year. Police records and court documents show that Thakur discovered an Apple AirTag hidden under the hood of her car in January, and Rohit had repeatedly deflated her tires to act as a helper. Authorities also revealed that he had illegally obtained a key to her apartment, entering her home while she slept.
Thakur first reported the harassment to law enforcement in March and later obtained a formal restraining order in May after deputies urged her to seek protection. In her court petition, Thakur noted that Rohit worked as a DoorDash delivery driver and would park outside her apartment for hours daily. Her mother, Sudesh Kumari, spoke with Thakur by phone about an hour before the shooting, during which Thakur promised to call back in 15 minutes but never did.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security confirmed that Rohit was an undocumented immigrant from India who entered the country through Arizona in 2023, where he was detained by U.S. Border Patrol and subsequently released pending immigration proceedings. DoorDash issued a statement confirming full cooperation with the Sheriff’s Office investigation and expressing condolences to Thakur’s family following what they called an unimaginable tragedy.
