Nepali shot dead in Texas, police release pictures of two suspects

TEXAS, Jan 22: Gunmen have shot dead a Nepali national working at a store clerk at a gas station just before midnight on Saturday. The deceased have been identified as Manish Pandey, 35.

The Garland police are looking for two armed suspects who killed Pandey.

According to police, two men wearing hoodies and armed with guns went into the Exxon gas station at the corner of Oats and Broadway in Garland, Texas. Pandey– who police confirmed was also robbed at the same store last September — was getting ready to close when the two suspects went in to rob the store.

Both men were captured by surveillance cameras.

“During the confrontation, a struggle ensued between the clerk and the two suspects and ultimately the clerk was shot. The two suspects fled the location,” said L.t Pedro Barineau of the Garland Police Department.

Police say during the struggle, one of the suspect’s hoods came down, giving cameras a better look at his face. It’s unclear if the two suspects got away with any cash.

Police say sometime after the shooting, an unknown bystander went into the store.

“They arrived on scene, they walked inside, they saw the clerk had been shot, they came outside and fortunately a patrol unit was actually driving down the street at that time and they were able to flag them down,” said Lt. Barineau.

Police combed the scene for several hours, collecting evidence well into Sunday morning.

Sever customers stopped by the store and were shocked and heartbroken to learn Panday was killed.

“You hear it around places, but whenever it’s this close to home, you don’t really expect it,” said Kurt Groves who lives in the neighborhood.

“It hits home a lot, you know, when when you have kids and you go to that gas station quite a bit, and you’re not expecting something like that to happen around here,” said Groves.

The store was closed Sunday afternoon.

Pandey had worked at the store for seven years. He leaves behind a wife who is pregnant with the couple’s first child. AGENCIES