Category: News

Hyderabad: A horrific shooting incident in the United States has left the Indian community in shock after a 56-year-old Indian-origin man and his 24-year-old daughter were shot dead at a general store where they worked.

The victims, identified as Pradeep Kumar Patel and his daughter, were found with fatal gunshot wounds at their workplace in Accomack County, Virginia.

General Store Shooting: What Happened?

According to media reports, the father-daughter duo worked at a general store located on Lankford Highway in Virginia. On March 20 at approximately 5:30 AM, the Accomack County Police Department received an emergency call reporting gunfire at the store.

When police arrived at the scene, Pradeep Kumar Patel was found dead, while his daughter was still alive but critically wounded. Emergency medical personnel rushed her to a nearby hospital, but despite medical efforts, she succumbed to her injuries.

Police Investigation and Suspect Arrest

Law enforcement officials have confirmed that a suspect has been arrested in connection with the double homicide. However, authorities have yet to determine the motive behind the killings. The suspect is currently being interrogated, and further details will be released as the investigation progresses.

Reports suggest that Patel and his daughter worked at the store owned by a relative, raising concerns about whether the attack was premeditated or a random act of violence. Authorities are examining CCTV footage, witness statements, and forensic evidence to piece together the sequence of events that led to the shooting.

The murder of Pradeep Kumar Patel and his daughter has sent shockwaves through the Indian American community, particularly among those living in Virginia. As news of the tragic incident spread, Indian-origin residents took to social media to express their grief and demand justice for the victims.

Many members of the Indian diaspora in the US have voiced concerns over the safety of Indian-origin workers and business owners, particularly in areas where crimes targeting immigrants have been on the rise. Several organizations representing the Indian community have called for thorough investigations and enhanced security measures to prevent such incidents in the future.

Growing Concerns Over Violence Against Indian-Origin Individuals

This incident is part of a troubling trend of attacks on Indian-origin individuals in the United States. Over the past few years, multiple cases of violence, hate crimes, and targeted attacks have been reported, raising serious concerns about the safety of immigrants.

Indian authorities and diplomatic officials are closely monitoring the situation. The Indian Embassy in Washington, D.C., has reached out to local law enforcement and is coordinating with Patel’s family members to provide assistance.

Calls for Justice and Stricter Laws

Following the brutal killings, members of the Indian-American community and advocacy groups have urged US authorities to take stricter measures against gun violence. The rise in firearm-related crimes has been a long-standing issue in the US, and cases like this further highlight the need for better security measures at businesses operated by immigrant communities.

Authorities Urge Public Cooperation

Local law enforcement has requested anyone with relevant information about the case to come forward. Police are working to uncover the motive behind the attack and ensure justice is served.

Meanwhile, the Patel family is preparing for the funeral, and community members have come together to support them during this tragic time. A fundraising campaign has also been launched to assist the bereaved family with legal and funeral expenses.

MOTHER’S Day is just a few days away – the one day of the year where it’s compulsory to make a fuss and spoil your mum.

We’d love to know what makes your mum so special.

Does she always put others first and have a heart of gold?

Maybe she helps out with the school run during the week or takes your dog for a walk while you’re at work.

Does she cook a fabulous feast on a Sunday or bake a brilliant birthday cake for her grandchildren?

Whatever makes your mum special, we want to hear about it.

Tell us by clicking on the link below and we will feature some of them in a special online gallery on Mother’s Day as well as a selection in next week’s Warrington Guardian.

Please include a clear photograph – no filtered pictures or montages – their full names, where in Warrington they are from and tell us why you think they are the best.

We will not be able to use any submissions that have missing information.

You and Your Baby Group is being delivered by Advance Brighter Futures to help people with challenges and how they feel about being a parent.

It will also provide a great opportunity to meet others, supported by a team who ‘just get it’.

The next You and Your Baby Group by the mental health and wellbeing charity, will start on April 29 for six sessions until June 10 (there is no session on May 27 due to half term).

Read more: 

In these 90-minute sessions, the team will aim to help people make positive changes in their life, as they experience new parenthood.

Sian Phillips, operations officer with Advance Brighter Futures, said: “As many as 10% of all new parents’ experience periods of feeling low following the birth of their baby.

“Through our Parental Resilience and Mutual Support (PRAMS) project, we offer various forms of help to parents facing the challenges of parenthood. Especially when the reality of life with a new baby or small child doesn’t match up to what was expected.

Read more:

“Our groups provide the opportunity to talk and learn about emotional wellbeing and resilience when things feel tough, as well as providing a great opportunity to meet other parents.

“Our groups can help with lots of things such as coping with lack of sleep, developing closeness to the baby and having confidence in new roles as parents. We also offer tips for communicating when help is needed, keeping calm and how becoming a parent can have an impact on relationships.

Read more: Charity champion Gladys, 94, is hooked on a knitting mission

“Parents can bring their baby to our groups, we have play mats and toys to help keep them entertained. It’s also ok if they sleep the whole time.”

The free You and Your Baby Group sessions start on Tuesday, April 29, from 9.30am-11am, at the Gwersyllt Resource Centre, 2nd Avenue, Gwersyllt.

They are now accepting referrals from parents in the county of Wrexham. People can register themselves or be referred by someone supporting them via the registration form on the website – www.advancebrighterfutures.co.uk or by clicking this link directly to the registration form www.tfaforms.com/5109376.

For more details, call 01978 364777 or email info@abfwxm.co.uk

This nepo baby is the son of a legendary silver screen star, who is best known for portraying James Bond.

The 24-year-old artist looked like the identical twin of his father’s younger self while stepping out for an event in Los Angeles on Friday.

He pushed back his dark brown hair with one strand of loose hair that was not gelled back like the rest, which was stunningly reminiscent of his dad’s signature hairstyle. 

Sporting a black button down, he looked like he was wearing a casual version of the iconic, classic tuxedo that his father made famous while portraying the iconic secret agent in the 1990s and early 2000s.

The social media personality was joined by his girlfriend Alex Lee-Aillón as he attended the Clarins Celebrates Beauty Icons event at the Academy of Motion Pictures. 

Can you guess who he is?

He is Pierce Brosnan‘s son — Paris Beckett Brosnan.

He is the youngest of two kids Brosnan, 71, shares with his wife Keely Shaye Smith, 61.

The longtime couple are also parents to model Dylan Brosnan, 28. 

Brosnan also shares his late daughter Charlotte and sons Christopher, 52, and Sean, 41, with his first wife, the late actress Cassandra Harris. 

Brosnan was the fifth actor to play James Bond and starred as the iconic secret agent in four films. 

He is also known for playing the charming con man-turned-private investigator in the NBC series Remington Steele from 1982 to 1987 as well as starring in the 2008 classic Mamma Mia! and 1999 heist film The Thomas Crown Affair. 

Brosnan previously spoke about how he encouraged his children to pursue any of their passions except his own: acting. 

‘Just because it is f***ing hard work,’ he told GQ in 2022. ‘It’s a cross to bear. You’re constructing and destroying yourself.’ 

Taking his dad’s advice, Paris, now 24, is channeling his talent into art and music.

The youngest child of Brosnan and Smith, he was born on February 27, 2001 in Los Angeles. He spent most of his childhood in Kauai, Hawaii. 

He has also worked as a model, filmmaker and environmental activist. 

At just age 18 in September 2019, he walked the runway at a British Museum charity show during London Fashion Week. 

He has also appeared in GQ with his father and brother Dylan. 

The up-and-coming star has also modeled for Dolce & Gabbana and Balmain. 

In the film sector, he worked as a production assistant for Brosnan’s 2022 film Black Adam and has worked on short films of his own. 

In 2021, he directed a short film documenting his 2019 trip to Sri Lanka, highlighting a partnership between Clarins and FEED to support school meal programs worldwide to end childhood hunger. 

In May 2023, Paris graduated from Loyola Marymount University, and his dad took to social media to share a congratulatory post. 

‘Go into the world with a brave heart and create stories that will make the world a better place,’ he wrote.

A father and daughter from Gujarat have been killed in a shooting at a convenience store in Virginia, an attack that has sent ripples of grief through Indian-American community in the US.

Pradeep Patel, 56, was shot dead at the scene, while his 24-year-old daughter Urmi succumbed to her injuries two days later. The shooting took place in the early hours of 20 March, shortly after the pair had opened the store for the day.

Police have arrested a suspect, identified as George Frazier Devon Wharton, though the motive behind the attack remains unclear.

The Patel family had moved to the US in 2019 on visitor visas and had since settled into the tightly-knit Gujarati convenience store network. They had taken over their current store just four months ago, after years of working in a different location around 75 kilometres away.

According to relatives, the shooting may have been premeditated. “It seems the attacker had been lurking near the store and opened fire as soon as Pradeep and Urmi arrived,” said a family member.

The case has added to growing concerns over the safety of the Indian diaspora in the US, where a spate of violent incidents in the past year or so has disproportionately affected immigrant communities.

Violence against Indian disapora in US

In the past year, several Indian and Indian-origin individuals have tragically lost their lives in the United States due to violent incidents.

In March 2024, Amarnath Ghosh, 34, a trained classical dancer and a student at Washington University, Ghosh was shot dead in St. Louis, Missouri. His death was among at least 11 Indian or Indian-origin students’ deaths in the US between January and April 2024. ​

On June 21, 2024, Dasari Gopikrishna, 32, succumbed to critical injuries during a robbery at a gas station convenience store in Pleasant Grove, Dallas, where he was working at the billing desk. He was reportedly killed in the shooting incident.​

In August 2024, news outlets reported the death of Mainank Patel, the owner of a tobacco store in North Carolina. Patel was shot and killed during a robbery by a teenage suspect.

On January 19, 2025, Raviteja Koyyada, 26, a resident of Hamden and an alumnus of Sacred Heart University, Koyyada was shot and killed while delivering food in New Haven, Connecticut. Originally from Hyderabad, India, he had recently celebrated his 26th birthday and was engaged, with plans to relocate his parents to the US.

With inputs from agencies

AN ex-police officer has been jailed for lying that his parents were responsible for three of his speeding offences.

Seren Sriganesh, 23, had clocked up six penalty points on his licence before joining the force in 2023.

He did not declare them and, between 2020 and 2024, tried to cover up three new offences by pretending that his parents were to blame.

The cop illegally used Sussex police computers to view one of the case’s details — but was reported to the Independent Office for Police Conduct watchdog.

Now Sriganesh, who was based in the Brighton and Hove policing division, has been jailed for three years and two months at Guildford crown court.

He admitted conspiracy to pervert the course of justice, fraud offences and unlawfully obtaining personal data.

Sriganesh, who quit the force in October 2024, also got a two-year driving ban.

IOPC director Emily Barry said: “The evidence gathered in this case was overwhelming.

“Sriganesh flagrantly and repeatedly broke the law for his own personal gain.”

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An Acomb dad has spoken on the tragic loss of his son – who died in lockdown at the age of just four days.

Roman Dinnen was born in York Hospital on April 6, 2020, just two weeks after lockdown was announced.

Born as a “happy and healthy” baby, Andrew Dinnen – Roman’s father – said his son became “very quiet and lethargic”.

“He wouldn’t cry, which raised alarm bells with my wife,” Andrew said.

Shortly after, the parents discovered that Roman had ornithine transcarbamylas (OTC) deficiency – a “very rare” metabolic condition.

Laura, Andrew and Roman Dinnen (Image: Supplied)

Andrew said: “At that time, we were very confused. It was a very rare metabolic condition.

“Roman was transferred from York to the LGI (Leeds General Infirmary), which is where we were given the full explanation of what would come next, that he wouldn’t survive it.”

After passing away on April 10 in Martin House Children’s Hospice, the Dinnen family returned home to grieve – whilst dealing with navigating their four-year-old daughter Erin through a pandemic.

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“The most difficult part of lockdown was the funeral,” Andrew said. “We never had the wake or the celebration of life, my family didn’t come from Scotland.

“There were no exceptions to the rules, and we felt robbed of that experience.”

Andrew said there’s “still some hurt there” across his family over the restricted goodbye. 

Erin and Roman Dinnen (Image: Supplied)

“My mum couldn’t meet him, let alone say goodbye to him,” he said. “It had a devastating affect on a lot of family, everything went so fast.”

After Roman’s death, the Dinnen family discovered that both Erin, and his wife Laura carried the OTC deficiency.

However, he said Roman’s case brought awareness to the disease, and helped medical professionals research it more.

He said: “We were under the opinion that if Roman’s passing could help save a life somewhere else, we were very much for it.”

Later giving birth to daughter Jorgie, in 2022, and Bonnie, in 2023, Andrew said all of his children are on the hospital’s “radar”.

“If something was to happen to one of the kids they would be treated properly, they get checked four times a year,” Andrew added.

The Dinnen family today (Image: Supplied)

“When Jorgie was born we were still in the tail end of lockdown. There was so much more attention to it [OTC] and everybody was so much more focused on it.

“We’ll forever be in debt to what the doctors have done.”

For the Dinnen family, the five-year anniversary of lockdown is a sombre one.

Andrew said: “We’re very much aware that the memory of lockdown makes a lot of people sit down and laugh about how strange of a time it was. In some respects it was also a terrible thing for everybody.

“Our grieving process felt longer, there was nothing we could do to distract ourselves, but our family as a unit grew so much closer.”

Each year, the Dinnen family visits Roman’s grave, to sing happy birthday.

A mother who alleged her adult son threatened on St Patrick’s night to beat up his brother and destroy her home and his grandmother’s home unless she gave him money for drugs has secured a protection order against him.

The woman told the emergency domestic violence court at Dublin’s Dolphin House she was not seeking a barring order for the moment because she wanted to give her son “a chance”. He has a history of drug use and “aggression and volatile behaviour comes with that”, she told Judge Gerard Furlong on Friday.

He put holes in the walls and doors of her home, she fears his behaviour will escalate and she has a younger child whom she needs to protect, she added.

When her son was “on the town” on St Patrick’s night, he phoned her saying he was coming home to beat up his brother and destroy her house, she said. She persuaded him to go to her mother’s house but he threatened to break that up too unless she gave him €100 to buy cocaine.

In another application under the Domestic Violence Act, a distressed woman who alleged her partner had attacked her with a clothes iron, bitten her and spat in her face got an interim barring order.

“He controls me with fear,” she told the judge. “It’s the worst time of my life.”

“I haven’t been able to stay in my own home since I left on Tuesday,” she added. Her apartment is in her name only, the court heard.

A woman seeking a protection order said she suffered bruising after being headbutted by her husband. The judge told her he could see “very extensive” bruises around her eyes.

Her husband had been arrested and had appeared in court, the woman said.

Noting she had not sought a barring order, the judge said he would give her a protection order “straight away”. If that was breached, she could consider issuing a barring order summons, he said.

Noting she previously secured a protection order against her husband but did not attend court on the return date, the judge asked her to come back this time. The woman said she would be back and would seek a five-year safety order.

In a separate case, the judge refused an interim barring order sought by a woman against her partner but he granted a protection order.

The woman said they have young children, she moved into a council house in recent months and wanted her partner to leave but he refused to go. He is “angry”, shouts and puts the children in fear, and she has become a “very anxious person” around him, she said.

The judge said an interim barring order requires evidence of an immediate threat to safety and she had not advanced such evidence. “I know you don’t want him there but that’s not a basis for a barring order,” he said, adding he would “marginally” grant a protection order.

“We’re here about safety, not about clearing a house,” he said. She would have to explore other avenues, he told her.

In another application, a woman was refused an interim barring order but secured a protection order against her adult son. There are just the two of them in her home, he has “profound” mental health issues and also has drug addiction problems, she said. He returned to using drugs last Christmas despite undergoing a treatment programme, she said.

In recent days, while she was out, he “staged a break-in” at her home, her new TV was stolen and her kitchen was messed up, she alleged. She thought he might have been having a psychotic episode.

She puts an ironing board across her bedroom door at night because she is in fear, she said.

The evidence did not meet the threshold for an interim barring order but he would grant a protection order, said the judge.