‘People took cover, but Sharath ran and was shot’, says eyewitness in Telangana student killing

Sharath Koppu, the Indian student killed by a suspected robber in Kansas, was trying to run out of the restaurant when he was shot in the back, witnesses said.

The 26-year-old student from Telangana was student at the University of Missouri-Kansas City (UKMC), was shot at about 7 pm on Friday at J’s Fish and Chicken Market near 54th and Prospect, where he worked as a part-time employee.

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.

Two other witnesses, who were in a nearby motel, were quoted by The Kansas City Star as saying they had heard five shots coming from the direction of the restaurant. By the time they stepped outside, those involved in the shooting had fled.

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 hailed from Warangal district and was pursuing his masters in software engineering at the University of Missouri. He was said to be working part-time at the restaurant in Kansas City.