Nepalese student shot dead in the USA

21-year-old Nepalese student Muna Pandey was found shot to death in her apartment in Houston, Texas.

The Houston Community College student was discovered Monday night with a gunshot wound to the chest. Houston police arrived at the scene at 5:35 p.m. and confirmed her death, saying she suffered multiple gunshot wounds.

Originally from Bhojpur, Pandey went to the US for her undergraduate studies in 2021. According to Drona Gautam, vice president of the Nepalese Association of Houston, she was pursuing a degree in nursing at Houston Community College. Initially, Pandey lived with a friend from Nepal, but recently she has been living alone.

Pandey's mother Anita, who currently lives in Kandaghari, Kathmandu, said she received the devastating news on Tuesday morning.

“Her friend informed me of Muna's death early Tuesday. I was devastated when the caller sobbed and told me the bad news,” she said. “I fainted when I heard the news. I lost my support, my everything. I don't know what to do next; I can't think ahead.”

Her relatives in the US told Anita that police believe the murder took place four days earlier. “When she was traveling, we communicated less often,” Anita said. “I thought she had gone somewhere, but this is unimaginable.”

After moving to the United States, Muna lived with a school friend from Nepal for two years. However, her friend moved away a year ago for work reasons, so Muna now lives alone.

According to Anita, Muna had mentioned that she was in a relationship with a white American, but she was unaware of the recent developments in their relationship.

Muna moved to the United States in August 2021 and has not returned to Nepal since. “Muna said she planned to visit Nepal after she finished her studies next year,” Anita said. “But now she is gone and will never return.”

After her divorce from her husband Shyam Narayan Pandey, Anita lived with her daughter in Kathmandu.

Anita demands that the perpetrator of her daughter's murder be identified and severely punished. “I had such high hopes for Muna, she was so smart,” she said. “The murderer must be brought to justice.”

When Anita heard the tragic news, she informed her brother Hari Adhikari in Dhankuta.

According to Hari, Anita called him and informed him of the tragic news as soon as she heard about it on Tuesday morning.

Anita last lived with her mother, Vishnu Maya Adhikari, and her younger brother's daughter, Anisha.

Meanwhile, police have arrested a man for murder. According to a report by Khasokhas, a Nepali online news channel based in New York, the suspect was arrested during a traffic stop on Wednesday evening local time. Police said they arrested the man based on several tips. The identity of the arrested man was not disclosed.

Additionally, Texas-based media reported that Houston police released a surveillance camera still Wednesday morning showing a bald man in a blue T-shirt leaving an apartment and asking the public for help in identifying him.

“Houston police are searching for a man suspected of being trapped in the murder of a 21-year-old Nepali college student in her west Houston apartment,” houstonchronicle.com reported.