Police have released video showing the moments before Indian-origin Shalini Thakur was chased and shot dead outside a restaurant in California last week. Thakur, 38, was attacked outside a Panera Bread restaurant on Howe Avenue in Sacramento on 8 September, according to the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office.
Police said the suspect, Rohit Rohit, 22, approached Thakur at a shopping mall shortly before 15:00 and began to “accost her”.
As she tried to run away, he chased her and fired several shots, police said. Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office Lieutenant Amar Gandhi said: “As the victim attempted to run away, Rohit chased her down, pulled out a firearm, and shot her multiple times. The victim fell to the ground.”
He said Rohit then walked towards Thakur as she lay on the pavement and “shot her in the head at close range”.
The released footage shows Rohit chasing Thakur for several seconds before the video cuts away.
NEW: Woman executed by an illegal immigrant DoorDash worker who entered the U.S. in 2023 during the Biden administration and had been stalking her for months
Shalini Thakur, 38, was shot and killed outside a Panera Bread in Sacramento on September 8
Rohit Rohit, 22, chased her… pic.twitter.com/mz04vVtsVB
— Unlimited L's (@unlimited_ls) September 14, 2026
Months of ‘Stalking’
Detectives later learned that Rohit had been harassing and stalking Thakur after meeting her through DoorDash pickups from her workplace, Lt Gandhi said. The alleged harassment dated back to at least January, when Thakur discovered an Apple AirTag under the hood of her car.
Police said Rohit’s behaviour became increasingly alarming. On one occasion, he allegedly deflated her tyres and followed her to work before offering to help her. He also obtained a copy of her apartment key and entered her home while she was sleeping, according to police.
Rohit later claimed that he had entered the apartment to check on her after she did not respond to his messages.
Thakur subsequently obtained a restraining order against him. Police said he breached it in July by leaving groceries at her front door.
Suspect Found Dead
After the shooting, deputies tracked Rohit’s vehicle as he fled the scene. They located the vehicle and said Rohit “immediately slammed on his brakes”.
“Deputies attempted to call out the driver for some time, but ultimately discovered that he was deceased from what appeared to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound,” Lt Gandhi said.
Thakur’s mother, Kumari Thakur, told KCRA 3 that her husband died two years ago and that Shalini was her only child. “I am alone in this world,” she said.
Thakur had spoken to her mother by phone less than an hour before the shooting. They had planned to speak again 15 minutes later. “Then she will never come,” Thakur’s mother said through tears. “I call her every time, every minute, every hour. I don’t know.”
She said she sent her daughter several WhatsApp messages after she could not reach her, including: “I am worried about you.”
The grieving mother also said police “did not protect” her daughter, despite her having sought “restraining order after restraining order”.
Family and friends described Thakur as “a caring, loving, selfless, and generous young woman who gave so much of herself to others”.
The US Department of Homeland Security has linked the case to the Biden administration’s immigration policies. According to DHS, Rohit entered the US illegally through Arizona in 2023 and was arrested by US Border Patrol agents in August that year before being “released into the country by the Biden administration”.
“This illegal alien from India harassed, stalked, and then killed a 38-year-old woman in California, and then took his own life when police caught up to him,” a DHS spokesman said. “This tragedy would have been completely avoided if it weren’t for the Biden Administration RELEASING this killer into our country.”
The DHS spokesperson also said California laws make it difficult for local law enforcement to cooperate with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in deportation cases.
A DoorDash spokesperson said the company was “fully cooperating” with the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office. “This is an unimaginable tragedy, and our hearts are with Ms. Thakur’s family and loved ones as they grieve this immense loss,” the spokesperson said.
“DoorDash has absolutely zero tolerance for violence or harassment of any kind,” the company said, adding that it encouraged anyone experiencing unwanted attention to report it through the DoorDash app and contact local law enforcement if they felt unsafe.