15-year-old Gujarat boy shot dead in US

Vadodara, Oct 18: A 15-year-old boy having his family roots in Anand district's Demol village was shot dead by an armed robber in Cleveland Heights in Ohio, US.

Victim Sunny Patel's relatives said that the robber barged into Mr Hero restaurant owned by his uncle on South Taylor Road and shot him in the head on Friday night. The robber then stole cash from the register and fled.

Sunny's father Ravi Kantibhai Patel had moved to the US from Demol over a decade ago. "Sunny was Ravi's only child and the family is a deep shock," said Suresh Patel, a distant relative of the family.

"The boy was born in the United States. In fact, Ravi's father was a philanthropist who had donated a good amount to erect an entrance gate at Demol village," said another relative Hasmukh Patel.

On Sunday night, the Cleveland Heights police arrested a suspect who was caught in CCTV footage. He was seen wearing grey sweatpants, a black sweatshirt and a white bandana on his face. The police has, however, not identified the person nor have they filed any charges against him.

Sunny's death has added to the spate of fatal at tacks on the diaspora in the last one year.

Last year, there were at least 12 incidents where NRGs fell prey to either fatal shootings or police brutality on foreign shores mainly in the US, South Africa, Germany and the UK.

Earlier this year, Mitesh Patel, a 23-year-old NRI having roots in Umreth town was shot dead in Los Angeles when he was about to step out of his liquor store. Before Mitesh, 55-year-old Harshad Patel from Bochasan village near Borsad had died of a gunshot fired byChesterfield County police at a convenience store at The Marketplace on Walmsley Boulevard.