Texas Student Held In Triple Murder Case

India-West News Desk

ALTON, TX – A 19-year-old Indian-origin student has been charged with capital murder after authorities accused him of fatally shooting his parents and grandmother at their South Texas home and attempting to kill his older brother.

Gaurav Chopra, of Alton in Texas’ Rio Grande Valley, is being held without bond at the Hidalgo County Adult Detention Center. He faces charges of capital murder of multiple persons, attempted capital murder, felony evading arrest, and aggravated assault.

The shootings occurred on June 16 at the family’s home in the gated Tuscany Village subdivision.

Authorities said Chopra’s 21-year-old brother escaped the house and called 911 after allegedly being shot at by Chopra. In a probable cause affidavit, the brother told investigators he encountered Chopra inside the home, who then pointed a firearm at him and fired a shot that missed. He was able to flee and alert police.

Responding officers soon spotted a white Lexus believed to be driven by Chopra and attempted a traffic stop. Police said he fled, leading officers on a chase that ended in a crash near the intersection of 4-Mile Line Road and Glasscock Road. A handgun believed to have been used in the shootings was later recovered from the vehicle.

At the family’s residence, officers found Kamlesh Rani, 46, and her mother, Minder Kaur, 73, dead inside the home. Chopra’s father, 56-year-old businessman Sweeta Ram, was found with gunshot wounds and transported to a hospital, where he later died. Autopsies later determined that all three victims died from gunshot wounds to the head, authorities said.

Hidalgo County Sheriff J.E. “Eddie” Guerra said investigators have not yet determined a motive.

“I’m not going to speculate on what the motive was, but investigators are still looking into the possible motive,” Guerra told reporters during a news conference on June 18.

Guerra said Chopra had no known prior interactions with law enforcement and was a student at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley.

In a statement, the university said it was aware that a current student had been identified as a suspect in an off-campus criminal investigation and was cooperating with law enforcement as appropriate.

The sheriff described Sweeta Ram as a well-known local businessman who owned a motel and an event center in nearby Palmview.

“He was a very, very well-liked individual. He was very cooperative, always helped out anybody in need, from what I’ve been told,” Guerra said.

The Hidalgo County Sheriff’s Office, Alton Police Department and the Texas Department of Public Safety continue to investigate the case.