According to the police, Akash R. Talati was a bystander when a man started firing shots at the club’s security guards. He was rushed to the hospital but scummed to his injuries.
An Indian American motel owner was shot dead in North Carolina on November 11. Akash R. Talati, 40, who owned Knights Inn and Diamondz Gentlemen’s Club in Fayetteville city, was shot dead during an exchange of gunfire between a man and a security guard.
According to the police, Talati was a bystander when the man fired shots at the security guards. The assailant, identified as Markeese Dewitt, 23, returned to the club after he was escorted out of the club for causing a disturbance and started firing shots at the security guards. Police said they were called to the club at 1.51 a.m.
Reportedly, Talati, who hails from Anand in Gujarat, sustained fatal injuries after the gunfire. Though he was rushed to a nearby hospital, his life could not be saved.
Markeese Dewitt has been charged with attempted murder and assault with a deadly weapon, CBS News reported, citing Fayetteville police.
The Club security guard fired back, hitting the suspect five times. The police said Dewitt was shot four or five times and remained in serious condition at Cape Fear Valley Medical Centre.
Three other people including the security guard and a female employee of the club were also injured in the incident. One of them is in fair condition at the hospital and two others were treated and released. But, the police haven’t revealed their identities.
External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said on Sunday that the government will provide all help to the family of Talati.
“Indian Embassy in US has informed me of the circumstances leading to the death of Akash Talati, a US citizen of Indian origin,” Tweeted Swaraj.
“We are in touch with the family of the deceased and will provide them all help,” she wrote in another tweet.