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The Fifth Third incident is the latest and most deadly of the 15 serial shootings in the region since 2013, according to an Enquirer analysis.
Cincinnati Enquirer

Pruthvi Raj Kandepi(Photo: provided)

Prudvi Raj Kandepi, a 25-year-old Indian engineer, came to Cincinnati with a dream.

That dream was broken on Thursday when he was shot by an armed gunman on his way to work at Fifth Third Bank. Kandepi was the youngest of three victims killed on Thursday morning in Fountain Square.

"It's so cruel," said Yash Yeddulapalli, the roommate of Kandepi University. "It's so unfortunate and very unfair that it happened to him."

The college's best friend Kandepi described him as a positive person and a mature but funny guy. A bit like the group's father, even though he was the youngest.

"He wanted everything to be in order for him to make people happy," Yeddulapalli said.

About six of his classmates traveled to Cincinnati hundreds of miles away when they heard of his death. None of them hesitated to get on a plane or get in a car that day, just to be there for their friend. Because that's what Kandepi would have done.

He was the movie buff who discussed how talented the actors were.

It was the cook who made the best mutton and chicken biryani.

It was the planner who ensured that his college friends would meet during holidays and long weekends.

As their rally this weekend of Labor Day, where they explored the Shenandoah National Park in Virginia. It was an adventure that Kandepi had planned for the group and it was the last time they had seen it.

"It's a person who likes to be outside, he wants to explore constantly," said Ajay Mallina's friend. "It's one of my favorite things about him. And my favorite moment is that we all sit there eating the food he has prepared.

These friends pursued all their own dreams in different cities but did so together. They were family one of the other in America.

"We have always had that kind of brother relationship," Yeddulapalli said. "He was like a family far from home."

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Kandepi was also an ambitious director, who always put others first.

"He worked very hard to be where he was a few days ago," Yeddulapalli said. "He had a lot of career goals and he wanted to support his family."

Kandepi's mother, father and sister were all for him.

After graduating from the Vellore Institute of Technology, Kandepi left his family and small town in India four years ago to pursue a career in engineering. He earned his Master's degree in Computer Engineering at the University of California at Riverside. He moved to Cincinnati about two years ago and worked for Tech Services as a programmer and consultant for Fifth Third Bank.

"You should feel safe in your office, come in at 9 o'clock on a Thursday morning," Mallina said. "Nobody should be in such a horrible situation."

The New Indian Express reported that Kandepi "was shot and died instantly."

He was booming here, his friends said. And he was the man of confidence of his manager. Kandepi was always ready to help.

He loved cars and recently had an eye on a Dodge Charger. Mallina told Kandepi that he deserved it and that he should buy it.

Kandepi had paid off his student debt and paid his parents so that they had an extra floor in their house.

Mallina told Kandepi, "You do everything for your family. You can enjoy it too.

Lakshmi Sammarco, Hamilton County Coroner, said Wednesday that he recognized Kandep when his body arrived at the coroner's office. She had already been linked with him at the Hindu Temple in Greater Cincinnati.

It was a gentleman, said Sammarco.

"I remember meeting her at the temple," she told The Enquirer.

He was from the same city in India where the coroner grew up: Tenali.

He spoke the same language: Telugu.

On his Facebook page, Sammarco announced the names of the victims of the shooting. She added, "How do you tell parents who live 10,000 miles away that they will never see their son again because of a senseless shoot in a foreign country?"

Back in India, the news of Kandepi's death hit hard.

Yeddulapalli said that he spoke to Kandepi's father, who was on a train in India traveling on business. A call that he would never have thought of doing.

"He could not take it. He could not believe it. Yeddulapalli "It took him a few hours to get this done and I'm sure it has not fallen yet. "

Yeddulapalli said that Kandepi's father said, "I'm just looking at my son's pictures. And I'm just watching it.

"I'm just looking at my son's picture," Kandepi's father told Yeddulapalli. "Anyone please tell me it's a bad dream."

The Cincinnati office of the Teluga Association of North America is helping Kandepi's father, who has asked that his son's body be brought back to India for funerals.

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