Newly-wed Indian-origin man shot dead in US in suspected road rage incident

PTI, Jul 21, 2024, 11:51 AM IST

Washington: A 29-year-old newly wedded Indian-origin man was shot dead in front of his wife in a suspected road rage incident in the US state of Indiana, police and media reports said.

The incident happened when Gavin Dasaur was on his way home with his Mexican wife.

Indianapolis Police Department (IMPD) Officer Amanda Hibschman said officers responded to a report of a person shot just after 8:00 pm on Tuesday last week at an intersection on Indy city’s southeast side.

Arriving officers said they found a man on the ground in the middle of the road suffering from at least one gunshot wound.

The man’s wife identified the shooting victim.

“I held him as he bled out and I was waiting for the ambulance,” the victim’s widow, Viviana ZaMora told The Indianapolis Star.

Dasaur, reported to be hailing from Agra, and Viviana ZaMora, had just got married on June 29, a little over two weeks before his death.

Witnesses told police the shooting occurred over a road-rage incident between the Chevy driver and Dasaur, who was driving a black Honda, local WTHR reports.

The suspected shooter, Hibschman said, was detained at the scene.

“Upon further investigation and after consultation with Marion County Prosecutor’s Office, that individual was released,” the police spokesperson said, indicating the shooter may have acted in self-defence.

The IMPD said the investigation over the shooting and alleged road-rage incident is ongoing.

Dasaur’s wife condemned the shooting as she grieved her husband’s death.

“He was a hardworking man that always went out of his way to help anyone and wanted to give the world to me and his family,” she told the local outlet.

Cell phone video recorded by another driver at the scene shows Dasaur getting out of his car at the intersection.

Dasaur appears irate and is yelling at the driver of the pickup truck, Fox News reported.

A handgun can clearly be seen in Dasaur’s right hand.

As he approaches the driver’s side of the pickup truck, Dasaur punches the truck’s door with the gun in his hand.

Dasaur then switches the gun to his left hand while simultaneously raising his right hand to the truck’s window.

The driver of the pickup responds by shooting three times.

Dasaur immediately drops to the ground. The shooter never exited his vehicle during the confrontation which lasted only seven seconds.