Aaditya Adlakha, UC graduate student from India, dies after Western Hills Viaduct shooting
Colleagues and staff at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine are remembering a doctoral student from India who was found shot Nov. 9 inside a car on the Western Hills Viaduct.
Aaditya Adlakha, 26, died Saturday at UC Medical Center, according to the Hamilton County Coroner’s Office.
Adlakha was a fourth-year doctoral student in the molecular and developmental biology program, according to a statement from the medical school.
"He was much-loved, exceedingly kind and humorous, intelligent and sharp, whose research was described as novel and transformative," Dr. Andrew Filak Jr., senior vice president for health affairs, and Christian Holmes, professor and dean of the College of Medicine, said in the statement.
Last year, Adlakha received received a stipend and an award to support a research project on ulcerative colitis, the statement said.
He was expected to complete his doctorate in 2025.
A native of India, Adlakha received his bachelor’s degree in zoology in 2018 from Ramjas College of the University of Delhi in New Delhi. He received his master’s degree in physiology in 2020 from All India Institute of Medical Sciences, also in New Delhi. He started at UC's doctoral program in the fall of 2020.
"As a college and as Aaditya’s academic home, we extend our deepest condolences to his family and to those who knew him as a friend and colleague," the medical school's statement said.
On Thursday, police said Adlakha was found shot inside a car that crashed into a wall on the upper deck of the Western Hills Viaduct.
ShotSpotter reported there was gunfire in the area around 6:20 a.m., police said. Drivers passing by called 911 to report a vehicle that had bullet holes in it, with a person inside who had been shot, officials said.
Adlakha was taken to UC Medical Center and was in critical condition for several days.
No arrests have been made since the shooting was reported.
Students who would like to speak with someone for grief counseling can call the university’s counseling and psychological services department at 513-556-0648. Faculty and staff who would like counseling and support should contact the university’s Employee Assistance Plan – available 24 hours a day, seven days a week – at 800-227-6007.
Enquirer media partner Fox19 contributed to this report.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Aaditya Adlakha, University of Cincinnati grad student killed in shooting
