A 21-year-old Nepali student, Muna Pandey, has been shot dead at her apartment in Houston, Texas.

The Houston Community College student was discovered with a gunshot wound to her chest on Monday evening. Houston police arrived at the scene at 5:35 pm and confirmed her death, stating she had sustained multiple gunshot wounds.

Originally from Bhojpur, Pandey went to the United States in 2021 for her undergraduate studies. According to Drona Gautam, vice president of the Nepalese Association of Houston, she was pursuing a nursing degree at Houston Community College. Initially, Pandey lived with a friend from Nepal, but lately, she had been living alone.

Pandey’s mother, Anita, who currently resides in Kandaghari, Kathmandu, said she received the devastating news on Tuesday morning.

“Her friend informed me of Muna’s death early on Tuesday. I was devastated when the caller broke the bad news while sobbing,” she said. “I fainted as soon as I heard the news. I’ve lost my support, my everything. I don’t know what to do next; I can’t think ahead.”

Her relatives in the United States informed Anita that police believe the murder occurred four days prior. “We used to communicate less often when she was travelling,” Anita said. “I thought she had gone on a trip somewhere, but this is beyond imagination.”

After moving to the United States, Muna lived with a school friend from Nepal for two years. However, her friend relocated for work a year ago, leaving Muna to live alone.

According to Anita, Muna had mentioned being in a relationship with a white American man, but she was unaware of recent developments regarding their relationship.

Muna moved to the US in August 2021 and had not returned since. “Muna said she had a plan to visit Nepal after completing her studies next year,” Anita said. “But now she’s gone, never to return.”

Following her divorce from her husband, Shyam Narayan Pandey, Anita had been living with her daughter in Kathmandu.

Anita has demanded that her daughter’s murderer be identified and punished stringently. “I had such high hopes for Muna; she was so bright,” she said. “The killer must be brought to justice.”

Upon hearing the news, Anita informed her brother, Hari Adhikari, in Dhankuta.

According to Hari, Anita had called to tell him about the incident soon after hearing it on Tuesday morning.

Recently, Anita had been living with her mother, Vishnu Maya Adhikari, and her younger brother’s daughter, Anisha.

Meanwhile, police arrested a suspect. According to a report on Khasokhas, a Nepali online news outlet based in New York, the suspect was apprehended at a traffic stop on Wednesday evening local time. The police said they arrested the man based on multiple tips. The identity of the arrestee has not been disclosed.

Also, Texas-based media reported that police in Houston on Wednesday morning released a security camera still of a bald man in a blue T-shirt leaving an apartment and asking for the public's help in identifying him.

“Houston police are searching for a man they say is a suspect in the killing of a 21-year-old Nepali college student inside her west Houston apartment,” houstonchronicle.com reported.

Published on: 29 August 2024 | The Kathmandu Post