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Brindra Giri, a 41-year-old mother of two who had moved to Towson since her native Nepal four months ago, was one of three people killed in a shootout Thursday at an Aberdeen warehouse. Rite Aid.
Harry Bhandari, a Democratic nominee for the District 8 state delegation and a teacher in Baltimore City schools, said he has known the Giri family for the past decade.
Giri's husband, Kashiram Giri, has lived in the United States for six years, Bhandari said, and has recently been granted resident status as a sponsor.
Brindra Giri took the 16-year-old daughter's daughter and her 11-year-old son to Nepal when she moved to the United States in May.
They joined several other family members, including Brindra Giri's mother, Til Kumari Puri, and two brothers, as residents of Towson, said Bhandari, also born in Nepal.
Bhandari described Giri as a friendly and positive presence, a woman who "never complained", worked hard and came to this country partly because she wanted to offer her children the benefits that he was missing while growing up in Nepal.
Bhandari said that he was sitting with his family members in Towson until Friday morning. He described them as "devastated" and "inconsolable" and said Puri, Brindra Guri's mother, repeatedly complained that her daughter had died before her.
Guri's immediate family speaks only "limited English," Bhandari said, and is not sufficiently aware of life in the United States to know where to turn.
"They are new to the community. They do not know where the resources are. They keep crying and stuff like that. They are not very integrated in the community. That's why I try to help, "he said.
Bhandari said that he had taken leave on Friday to start helping funeral arrangements, in part because the Hindu religion believes that the dead should be buried as quickly as possible. He spent part of the afternoon helping Kashiram Giri find details with a Parkville funeral home.
He said he had contacted the state agencies and Rite Aid to seek help for the funeral expenses, which he said would probably exceed $ 6,000.
A Nepali American woman who claimed to be Giri's friend and co-worker described it – as well as the filming location – in Nepali at Bhandari, who translated her accounts into English.
The woman, who requested anonymity for security reasons, said she worked every day at Giri – Giri was working to get her Maryland driver's license while studying English – and the two men often spoke during lunch and during breaks.
Giri had only been working for about three weeks, the woman said, and usually talked about her children – especially her daughter, who often teased her in so "innocent" and "confident" ways.
She also stated that Giri was a hard worker who helped others in the work.
The woman said that panic ensued when the gunman entered the warehouse, the firearm fired and Giri shouted to his colleagues – in Nepali language – to run when she was shot from behind.
The friend said that she thought she had survived because she had decided to lie down during the assault, giving the impression that she was dead.
Five Nepalese-Americans were working in the warehouse production department, said Ms. Giri, whose job was to receive orders on arrival.
The woman said she saw the shooter reload a weapon – and that was the first time she saw a gun close up.
Bhandari said the news of the shooting "is everywhere in Nepal", a country where he said that gun violence was rare.
"These weapons – I mean, I understand mental illness, but I'm worried," said Bhandari.
At a press conference Friday, Harford County Sheriff Jeffrey Gahler said that the alleged gunman, Snochia Moseley, was suffering from a mental illness.
"Yes [the shooter] had a mental illness, how did she get the gun? It's an enigma, "said Bhandari. "As a nation, as a state, we must understand that. We must do better than that. "
The victims' families are asking for donations to the Victoria Russell Foundation, a non-profit organization created to foster a strong relationship between Harford County residents and first responders.
Baltimore Sun journalist Catherine Rentz contributed to this article.
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