24-year-old gas station clerk shot and killed days before finishing master’s, cops say
A 24-year-old man who moved to the U.S. to help provide for his family was shot and killed while working at a gas station in Ohio, police and friends of the man said.
Officers entered a Shell gas station in Columbus at about midnight April 20 and found Saiesh Veera with a gunshot wound, according to a police news release.
He had been shot after an attempted robbery, according to The Columbus Dispatch.
Veera, who was employed part-time as a clerk at the station, tried to thwart the robber, at which point “the assailant opened fire at him before robbing the cash chest,” his uncle told the Hindustan Times.
He was taken to a nearby hospital and despite attempts to save his life, he was pronounced dead about an hour later, police said.
Veera had been due to graduate with his master’s degree in a matter of days, according to WCMH.
He was also planning to stop working at the station because of concerns about safety, according to the outlet.
“He came to the USA (the first in his family) like any other middle-class guy with aspirations and (to) uplift his family situation as his father passed away two years ago,” a GoFundMe set up for him states in part.
Veera’s remains will be transported back to India, where his mother lives, the fundraiser organizers said, noting he had a big impact on his Ohio community.
“Every person who plays cricket in the Columbus area would know him, he was a brilliant cricketer and a great friend,” the site states.
The Columbus Police Department asked for assistance in identifying a suspect April 20.
Five days later, officers arrested Abdulwahida Osman, 22, and Darren Christian, 17, following a vehicle chase. Both have been charged with murder, police said.
The investigation remains ongoing, police said.
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