Pradipkumar Patel and his daughter were working at a store on Lankford Highway in Accomack County, located on Virginia's Eastern Shore, when the shooting occurred.
According to Shore Daily News, the Accomack County Sheriff's Office responded to reports of a shooting victim shortly after 5:30 am on March 20. Upon arrival, deputies found an unresponsive man with apparent gunshot wounds, who was pronounced dead at the scene. A woman with similar injuries was discovered inside the building and transported to Sentara Norfolk General Hospital, where she later died.
Motive for shooting not revealed
On Thursday evening, the Accomack County Sheriff's Office announced the arrest of 44-year-old George Frazier Devon Wharton of Onancock in connection with the fatal shooting. Sheriff W Todd Wessells stated that Wharton is currently being held without bond at the Accomack Jail.
He faces charges including first-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder, possession of a firearm by a felon, and two counts of using a firearm in the commission of a felony. The motive behind the shooting has not yet been disclosed.
According to WAVY-TV, a local Virginia television station, Paresh Patel, who identified himself as the store owner, confirmed that both victims were his family members. "My cousin’s wife and her dad were working this morning and some guy come here and they just shot," the TV station quoted Paresh as saying. "I don’t know what to do."
The incident sent shockwaves among the Indian community members in the United States after the news spread through Facebook, the report said.
(With PTI inputs)
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