AirTag, Duplicate Key: Stalker Chases, Kills Indian-Origin Woman In California

A 38-year-old woman of Indian origin was chased and shot dead outside a restaurant in Sacramento, California, on Tuesday, allegedly by a 22-year-old man who had stalked and harassed her for close to a year despite a restraining order being in place against him.

Shalini Thakur was attacked in broad daylight outside a Panera Bread outlet in the city's Arden-Arcade area. The accused, Rohit, fled the scene but was tracked down by police on Highway 50, where he shot himself during a standoff with deputies.

During the attack, Thakur tried to run, but Rohit chased her and shot her several times in front of onlookers, officials said. After she fell, he is said to have fired another shot at her head at close range.

Officers responding to reports of gunfire at around 3 pm found Thakur unresponsive outside the restaurant in the 800 block of Howe Avenue. Medics pronounced her dead at the scene, as per local broadcaster KCRA.

According to Lieutenant Amar Gandhi, the vehicle's last known location was established, and the car was found soon after.

When officers tried to pull the vehicle over, Rohit braked hard and stopped on the highway, Gandhi said. The California Highway Patrol shut all eastbound lanes as a result of the police operation.

Local broadcaster KCRA Channel 3 showed footage of the suspect's car surrounded by sheriff's vehicles, including an armoured tactical vehicle, with officers holding their weapons drawn. Deputies eventually broke the driver-side window and sent a drone into the vehicle before approaching it.

The suspect was found slumped in the driver's seat with what appeared to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Authorities later confirmed Rohit had died from the wound. KCRA reported that it did not appear deputies had fired their weapons.

Sudesh Kumari, Shalini's mother, said Rohit had been stalking and harassing her daughter for nearly a year. She said he had wanted to marry Shalini, but she had turned him down because of their age difference.

"She was so scared of him," a distraught Sudesh told KCRA 3.

Kumari recalled her final conversation with her only child, saying she was left devastated and questioned whether more could have been done to protect her daughter. The two had spoken on the phone at 1.58 pm, nearly an hour before the shooting. Thakur told her mother she would call back within 15 minutes, but never did.

Kumari, whose husband died two years ago, shared a series of unanswered calls and WhatsApp messages she had sent her daughter, including "Please call me" and "I am worried about you."

According to local media reports, court documents show the stalking began around September 2025 and grew progressively more frequent and severe.

Shalini reportedly knew Rohit through DoorDash pickups from her workplace. She later obtained a restraining order after his behaviour escalated, which included waiting outside her home for hours, deflating her car's tyres and placing an Apple AirTag underneath her vehicle to track her movements.

The restraining order documents also state that Rohit pressured Shalini to marry him and tried to control whom she could socialise with. On one occasion, he is said to have made a copy of her flat's key and entered while she was sleeping.

Rohit was served with a restraining order on 19 May but later violated it. In late July, he left grocery items outside Thakur's home despite the order being in place.