KOTTAYAM: A pharmacist and pharmacy tech from Kerala were killed in an apparent murder-suicide in Houston, Texas, in the United States on Wednesday.
The incident occurred at an out-patient pharmacy in the Ben Taub General Hospital where George Thomas Vallikkappil, 58, a native of Erattupetta near here shot dead his colleague Reena Koshy Ajith, 42, before turning the gun on himself.
The shooter and victim had worked at the pharmacy for several years. They were both pronounced dead at the scene, he at the scene of crime and she 10 minutes later, after the police arrived.
A 9-millimetre handgun was also recovered from the spot. Their colleagues told the police that the killer might have been trying to “enhance” a relationship with the female victim.
There were up to seven employees and two customers in the building, though no one else was harmed in the incident.
The shooting did not affect traumacare or emergency services as the pharmacy was not attached to the main building of the hospital. It’s in an annexe that is accessible through a walkway.