Sharath Koppu, 25, was shot dead in a robbery at a restaurant where he worked
A student from India was shot and killed during a robbery while working behind the counter of a Missouri fast-food joint.
Sharath Koppu, 25, was in the back at J’s Fish and Chicken Market in Kansas City Friday as he tried to get out.
Koppu, who was working on a master’s degree in computer science at the University of Missouri in Kansas City, has been described as a ‘gifted student’.
‘He had the same dreams like everyone else, to make it BIG in the land of opportunity,’ his cousin Raghu Chowdavaram said on a GoFundMe page set up to generate funds to transport Koppu’s body back to India.
In the campaign – which has already collected over $50,000 – Chowdavaram described Koppu as being ‘full of dreams, cheerful, energetic and athletic’.
CCTV footage captured the moment a gunman walked in and shot him dead
‘Little did anybody know that life is about to take a big unfortunate turn on a fateful day of July 6th 2018,’ Chowdavaram said.
UMKC Chancellor C. Mauli Agrawal said in a statement ‘Koppu was a gifted student who had many friends among student and faculty.’
Surveillance video has been released of the suspected shooter by Kansas City Police.
Video footage which was shot inside the restaurant shows a black man in white sneakers enter the busy venue with a t-shirt masking his hands.
It’s not clear if he was hiding a weapon under the towel, but he is seen looking around before firing the fatal shot.
The exact moment of the shooting isn’t known and hasn’t released on footage distributed by the police.
Koppu was shot dead in the back at J’s Fish and Chicken Market where he worked
Shahid, who runs J’s Fish and Chicken Market, told NDTV, ‘The others ducked behind the counter but Sharath turned around and began to run in the opposite direction when the gunman opened fire. Sharath was shot in the back and soon fell to the ground.’
The police are offering a $10,000 reward for any information that leads to charges in the murder.
Anyone with information to call on 816-234-5043 or the TIPS Hotline at 816-474-8477.