Philadelphia: In an incident that has the trappings of a hate crime against Indians in the US, a 28-year-old youth from Telangana was shot dead in Philadelphia in the US while delivering pizza.
Kuncha Anshul, a native of Gundlapochampally mandal in the Medchal-Malkajgiri district of Telangana, was in the US to pursue an MBA degree. He worked late shifts as a pizza delivery driver to fund his education, his family said.
According to the police, Anshul worked for Pete’s Pizza and was out to deliver three boxes to an address at the Raymon Rosen Homes housing complex on Edgeley Street in North Philadelphia when the incident occurred.
The youth completed the delivery and was leaving when he was shot dead. The address where the delivery was made was, in fact, a vacant unit, the police came to know. They have trac
ed the phone number from which the order was placed and are working on this lead.
“He was lying on the ground unresponsive, bleeding heavily with a gunshot wound to his head,” chief inspector Scott Small of the Philadelphia Police Department said.
He was rushed to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
The police recovered three spent shell casings at the scene, just inches away from where the victim was found. “Which is an indication that the shooter or shooters were standing very, very close to the victim,” Small said. The victim’s vehicle was also discovered near the scene, with a pizza warmer still inside.
The police also found three pizza boxes and a delivery bag inside the vacant apartment. The pizzas appeared to be untouched, leading investigators to suspect that the victim had been brought to the location intentionally with the aim to kill him.
Surveillance cameras operated by the Philadelphia Housing Authority captured portions of the incident but the actual shooting was not caught on the camera. Anshul could be seen followed by two people wearing dark clothing. One of them appeared to be carrying a dark backpack, as reported by The Times of India.
No one is in custody, but police said they do have a lead. “We do have the phone number from which the pizzas were ordered,” Small said.
The family, meanwhile, has written to the Indian Embassy seeking assistance in getting the body back home in Telangana for the last rites.