Indian American Father and Daughter Shot Dead by Customer at Virginia Convenience Store
- Pradeepkumar Patel, 56, and Urmi Patel, 26, who worked at the Shore Stop convenience store in Accomac, were shot by George Frazier Devon Wharton within five minutes after they opened the store at 5 a.m.
An Indian American man and his daughter were shot to death at a convenience store in Virginia last week. Pradeepkumar Patel, 56, and Urmi Patel, 26, who worked at the Shore Stop convenience store in Accomac, were shot by George Frazier Devon Wharton within five minutes after they opened the store around 5 a.m. on March 20, Shore Daily News reported.
Wharton, 44, had come to buy alcohol. After asking what the store didn’t retail open at night, he shot the father-daughter duo.
Pradipkumar Patel was shot twice in the chest, and was declared dead immediately, while Urmi Patel was shot in her head. She was flown to Sentara Norfolk General Hospital and died while being treated. The family hailed from Mehsana district in Gujarat, The Indian Express reported. Pradeepkumar Patel’s body was taken to the Norfolk Medical Examiner’s Office for autopsy, the Indian daily said.
Patesh Patel, owner of the convenience store told The Indian Express that the Patels were members of his family. “My cousin’s wife and her father were working at the store in the morning when a man suddenly entered and opened fire,” he said, “I don’t know what to do.”
Wharton, of Onancock, Virginia, is currently being held in Accomack Jail “with bond denied,” as reported by Shore Daily News. He was initially charged with first-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder, two counts of using a firearm in the shootings, and possession of a firearm by a felon. Wharton, “who also goes by the name George Davis, was convicted of distribution of cocaine in 2008,” the publication added, citing Accomack Circuit Court files.