Family of slain Indian-American woman raise money to fight gun violence
Darpan News Desk IANS, 11 May, 2023 12:23 PM
New York, May 11 (IANS) The family members of a 33 year-old Indian-American woman, who was allegedly shot at and killed by her husband last month, are raising money to help prevent gun violence.
Nabaruna Karmakar, an engineer by profession, was found with two gunshot wounds after officers arrived at her home in Morrisville, North Carolina, responding to a 911 call, police said.
Karmakar's husband Michael Aaron Matthews, who placed the 911 call to report a purported double suicide, was been arrested and charged for shooting and killing his wife at their home on April 14.
Despite the report of a double suicide, Karmakar was the only person hit by gunfire at the scene, and police believe she was murdered, the People reported.
The fundraiser set up by the victim's family has so far raised close to $10,882.
"We are all deeply saddened by the death of Nabaruna Karmakar, a beautiful girl with a smart mind whose life was claimed by gun violence. Hoping there will be no more victims, Naba's family is raising money to benefit Everytown for Gun Safety Support Fund," the GoFundMe page read.
Formed in 2013, the non-profit organization advocates for gun violence prevention, according to its website.
Indians working and living in the US have not been spared from the scourge of gun violence, with Aishwarya Thatikonda from Telangana being the latest victim.
The first four months of gun violence in 2023 as of May 1, saw 5,971 deaths, 11,035 injuries, 184 mass shootings and 290 children shot, according to the non-profit Gun Violence Archive.
Prior to her death, Karmakar worked in research at the SAS Institute and earned master's and doctorate degrees in industrial engineering from North Carolina State University, the People reported.
The motive for the murder is yet to be ascertained with police officials carrying out further investigations into the case.
Matthews appeared before a court on April 17 where the judge announced that he would remain locked up without bond for the time being.
If convicted of the murder, Matthews could face the death penalty or life in prison.
Police found the victim off the side of a road with apparent gunshot wounds. The man died from his injuries at the scene and his identity is being withheld until his next of kin is notified, the police said.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said during a news briefing that Pfizer's treatment was still too expensive. He noted that most countries in Latin America had no access to Pfizer’s drug, Paxlovid , which has been shown to cut the risk of COVID-19 hospitalization or death by up to 90%.
Paxlovid has become the go-to option against COVID-19 because of its at-home convenience and impressive results in heading off severe disease. The U.S. government has spent more than $10 billion to purchase enough pills to treat 20 million people.
About two dozen states reported suspected cases after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention put out a call for doctors to be on the lookout for surprising cases of hepatitis. The cases date back to late October in children under 10. So far, only nine cases in Alabama have been confirmed.
FDA officials said in a statement that they decided to restrict J&J's vaccine after taking another look at data on the risk of life-threatening blood clots within two week of vaccination.
Preliminary research suggests it is about 25 per cent more transmissible than the BA.2 subvariant that is currently dominant nationally, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
