GoFundMe Account Created to Bring Back Body of Telangana Student Killed in Kansas Restaurant

Hyderabad: The family of a 26-year-old student from Telangana who died in crossfire at a restaurant in Kansas City in the US state of Missouri has created a GoFundMe account to collect money to pay for the body to be returned to India.

Sharath Koppu, a student at the University of Missouri-Kansas City (UKMC), was shot at 7 pm on Friday at J's Fish and Chicken Market near 54th and Prospect, where he worked as a part-time employee.

The police released a brief video of the suspect inside the restaurant moments before the shooting and asked for the community's assistance in identifying him.

Koppu was a software engineer who moved to the US in January to pursue his Master's degree.

The GoFundMe account was created by Raghu Chowdavaram, the victim's cousin, on Saturday. It raised $25,000 in three hours, IANS reported.

"He had the same dreams like everyone else, to make it big in the land of opportunity. He had a great sense of humour and always made people laugh and was always eager to lend a helping hand," Chowdavaram wrote in the GoFundMe account.

Another cousin Raghvender wrote, “This could have been another beautiful life story if NOT came abruptly to a closure. Little did anybody know that life is about to take a big unfortunate turn on a fateful day of July 6th 2018. Friends, Family and everyone who knew him were in deep shock and having a hard time to believe the news (sic)," Raghvender, another cousin of the victim, wrote.

A worker at the restaurant told The Kansas City Star that the suspect, wearing a brown shirt with white stripes, had demanded money and pulled out a gun.

As people hid or ran for cover around him, Koppu bolted directly away from the suspect, towards the back of the store.

"(Koppu) ran, so he shot him in the back," the worker said.

Koppu died after being taken to a hospital.

"We offer our sincere sympathies to Sharath's family and friends in the wake of this senseless tragedy," UMKC said in a statement on Saturday.

UMKC Chancellor C. Mauli Agrawal offered his own condolences in a tweet Saturday evening.