A 26-year-old Indian man was fatally shot by miscreants in the US in a suspected carjacking case. The deceased person has been identified as Koyyada Ravi Teja, a resident of Green Hills Colony at Rama Krishna Puram in Hyderabad, Telangana.
Teja was attacked and killed in New Haven, Connecticut, on Sunday, January 19, as he was delivering food in a leashed car.
Confirming the news, the Consulate General of India in New York tweeted: “Deeply saddened to learn about tragic demise of Mr. Ravi Teja in shooting incident in New Haven, Connecticut. @IndiainNewYork is in touch with his family and is extending all possible assistance, including repatriation of his mortal remains to India.”
Teja’s father Koyyada Chandra Mouli told reporters, as quoted by The Hindustan Times: “We received information this morning that Teja was fired at by unidentified people while he was returning home.”
According to media reports, Teja was shot at in a suspected carjacking attempt by the miscreants near a gas station.
He died on the spot.
As per reports, Teja had moved to America in 2022 to pursue his master’s degree. After completing his academics, he was attending job trials while hoping to start his career.
“Nobody should face this situation. He went to the US with high hopes and see, how he is returning,” a friend said, as quoted by the Indian media outlet.
Teja’s killing adds to the list of Indian students either killed or who died in the US, which has witnessed a spike in 2024. At least 11 Indian or Indian-origin students died in the North American country in 2024.
Son was confident of getting a job by March
Chandra Mouli, a taxi driver by profession, was quoted by The Times of India as saying that his son worked hard to pay his university fees. “He would deliver food four days a week to get by and spend whatever time he had left looking for a secure job,” the father said.
Ravi Teja, a young man from Hyderabad, was tragically killed in a shooting incident on Washington Ave, USA. His family is heartbroken and in tears after receiving the devastating news of his death. #indtoday #RaviTeja #HyderabadYouth #USshooting #TragicLoss #HyderabadNews pic.twitter.com/0xAcgRyU1T
— indtoday (@ind2day) January 20, 2025
“He couldn’t immediately land a job he liked due to the presidential elections in the US, but was confident of getting one by March,” he added.
Chandra Mouli was going for a walk when the news reached him.
As per TOI, the father and son had last spoken on the phone on January 18. He said Teja had recently asked him to get a passport, so the senior could visit him in the US.
