An Indian-American lawyer, reportedly facing professional setbacks, was killed by police in Houston, Texas, on Monday after he began randomly shooting at passers-by on the street. Nine persons were injured in the incident, one of whom seriously.
Nathan Desai, 44, was dressed in a Nazi-military apparel and had a rifle and a pistol, both legally purchased. A search of his home yielded more weapons, police said.
This is the second time an Indian-American has been involved in an incident of high-profile gun violence this year. In June, 38-year old Mainak Sarkar, a researcher at the University of California at Berkeley, killed his ex-wife and former professor, before shooting himself.
Desai had quit a partnership firm in February and was not successful in his independent practice, according to his father, Prakash Desai. “He was worried ... because his law practice was not running good, so he was worried about this all the time,” the older Mr. Desai told the media.
When the son met him briefly on Sunday, there was nothing noticeable about his son then, he said.
“He said he right now is busy and he has to go. So he left. We didn’t have too much of a conversation. He talked to my wife because I was inside,” Mr. Desai said.
According to the father, Nathan Desai kept several weapons to protect himself from his clients. “He deals with funny people and criminally-minded people and you don’t know if something goes wrong, if they’re going to be upset at you.”
Desai had other Nazi paraphernalia also at this home, but the police have not ascertained a motive yet.
Ken McDaniel, a former partner of Desai told a media outlet that he was shocked and surprised. "If he did do something like this, it's out of character. It's shocking and upsetting. I don't think you would expect anybody to go do anything like this... if Nathan did do this."
