Indian American student shot dead in Philadelphia
Jude Chacko, a 21-year-old Indian American college student, was shot to death in Philadelphia in Mary 2023. Since January 2023, at least 10 Indian or Indian American students have died under mysterious circumstances in the United States.
Police are asking for public’s help in solving in murder of Jude Chacko, son of immigrant parents from India
Police are asking for the public’s help in solving the murder of Jude Chacko, a 21-year-old Indian American college student, who was shot in the forehead by an unknown assailant in Philadelphia last week.
It’s unclear what time the shooting took place near the 2700 block of Cumberland Street in Port Richmond due to a lack of witnesses and surveillance cameras in the area, but a pedestrian found Chacko on the ground a bit past 8 am Sunday morning, according to ABC News.
He was pronounced dead a few hours later at Temple University Hospital.
Read: Indian student shot dead at Ohio gas station (April 21, 2023)
Chacko, a student of Temple University, is the son of Roy Chacko and Asja Chacko who immigrated to the US more than 30 years ago.
He is being remembered as a sweet and loving young man who was very involved in his local church community in the Bustleton section of Philadelphia.
People who knew Chacko say they cannot even imagine what his parents are going through right now.
“I watched Jude become a fine young gentleman, and to witness these events over the weekend was just horrific,” said Monsignor Joseph Duncan from St. Albert the Great Roman Catholic Church.
“He was a young man of faith because, again, it’s strong in the family, and he lived it so beautifully. But this tragedy is just so heartbreaking,” Duncan was quoted as saying.
“The family is just a real pillar of the community here, and we are just devastated to hear this tragedy that happened to him,” Dennis Mueller, a fellow parishioner, was cited as saying.
While it’s unclear what he was doing the night he was murdered, authorities believe robbery was the motive, according to ABC News. That’s because his wallet and a firearm, for which he had a permit to carry, were both missing.
Anyone with information is asked to call police at 215-686-TIPS.
Meanwhile, Jude Chacko’s funeral is scheduled for Saturday.
Lately, several Asian and Indian Americans have fallen victim to targeted or random violence. Just recently, Aishwarya Thatikonda was one of the nine persons killed in a Texas mass shooting.
In April, Veera Saiesh, a 21-year-old from Eluru in Andhra was killed in a suspected robbery case in Columbus Ohio.
In January, 23-year-old Devsish Nandepu was killed after armed robbers shot him at Princeton Park in Chicago.
