A 21-year-old Nepalese student, Muna Pandey, was tragically shot and killed in her Houston apartment during a robbery, the police reported on Saturday. The suspect, identified as 52-year-old Bobby Sinh Shah, has been arrested and charged with murder.
Pandey, who was a student at Houston Community College, was discovered with multiple gunshot wounds inside her apartment around 5:30 p.m. on Monday. Police were alerted to the scene by apartment staff, who received an anonymous call about a body being inside the unit. Upon arrival, officers found Pandey deceased.
Two days after the discovery, police released CCTV footage showing Shah leaving Pandey’s apartment on Saturday. He was apprehended later that day during a traffic stop.
According to a GoFundMe page set up in her memory, Pandey had moved to Houston in the United States from Nepal in 2021 to pursue her studies. Her mother, who had been trying to reach her for several days before the tragic discovery, was devastated to learn of her daughter’s death.
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“What her Mom said is her phone was always online. After Saturday night, the phone was offline. She had three gunshots and she was laying down on the bed, with head down. Hopefully, the investigation will come up with some idea of how this happened,” a member of the Nepalese Association of Houston told the New York Post. Pandey was the only child in her family.
The Nepalese Association of Houston is working closely with the Nepal Consulate to assist in bringing Pandey’s mother to Houston so she can be with her daughter’s body for the final rituals.
The GoFundMe page, which has raised nearly $30,000, aims to cover the costs of Pandey’s funeral and her mother’s travel expenses. “We are reaching out to you, our community, to help bring Anita to the United States so she can say goodbye to her only child and give Muna the farewell she deserves,” reads the page.
This tragic incident has shocked the local community, and an investigation is ongoing to determine the exact circumstances leading to Pandey’s death.
