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- Shalini Thakur, 38, was shot to death outside Panera Bread on Howe Avenue.
- Sheriff’s officials said Rohit Rohit stalked Thakur for months before killing her.
- Thakur obtained a restraining order in May after deputies urged her to do so.
The family, friends, and coworkers of Shalini Thakur are suffering with the heartache in the aftermath of her death. The Sacramento woman was killed by a man authorities said had stalked her for months before shooting her in broad daylight in an Arden Arcade parking lot.
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Those who knew and loved Thakur have been left mourning her death, Daljit Khangura said in an online fundraiser to help her family with funeral and memorial expenses.
“Shalini was a caring, loving, selfless, and generous young woman who gave so much of herself to others,” Khangura wrote on behalf of Thakur’s family in a GoFundMe campaign. “She was always willing to support people in need, and her kindness left a lasting impact on so many lives. Her presence mattered deeply to the people who knew and loved her.”
Thakur, 38, was shot to death Tuesday afternoon outside a Panera Bread restaurant on Howe Avenue. Sacramento County sheriff’s officials said Rohit Rohit, 22, of Sacramento, chased Thakur through the parking lot and killed her, before driving away. He took his own life after deputies caught up with him on Highway 50 in Sacramento.
Sudesh Kumari, Thakur’s mother, told KCRA 3 that she had spoken with her daughter by phone about 2 p.m. Tuesday. Thakur told her mother she would call back in 15 minutes, but she never did. The conversation came about an hour before Thakur was killed.
Kumari said Thakur was her only child. Kumari’s husband died two years ago.
“I am alone in this world,” Kumari told KCRA 3.
Thakur’s family has scheduled a funeral service Monday morning at a funeral home in Old North Sacramento, according to her online obituary.
Sheriff’s officials said Rohit arrived by car shortly before 3 p.m. Tuesday at the shopping center in the 900 block of Howe Avenue. Thakur was dropped off a short time later near her vehicle, which was already parked there, according to the Sheriff’s Office. Rohit then chased Thakur through the parking lot and shot her, authorities said.
Sheriff’s homicide detectives said Rohit had harassed and stalked Thakur since at least January, when she discovered an Apple AirTag hidden under the hood of her vehicle.
The two worked for different employers but were friends who had known each other for a couple of years, said Sgt. Amar Gandhi, a Sheriff’s Office spokesperson. In January, Rohit’s behavior grew increasingly alarming.
“He, obviously, developed a real fixation on her,” Gandhi told reporters on Wednesday. “At one point, I think he told her, ‘I want to marry you.’ We were at that point of obsession.”
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Rohit deflated a tire on Thakur’s vehicle and followed her to work so he could offer to help her, according to the Sheriff’s Office. In another incident, he obtained a copy of her apartment key and entered her home while she was sleeping. Investigators did not know how he obtained the apartment key.
Thakur first reported the incidents to authorities in March, but she initially declined to pursue criminal charges or seek a restraining order, according to the Sheriff’s Office.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security said Thursday that Rohit was an Indian citizen who entered the United States illegally through Arizona in August 2023. U.S. Border Patrol arrested him before he was released into the country, according to the agency.
In a statement, Homeland Security officials blamed the Biden administration for Rohit’s release and criticized immigration policies it said allowed him to remain in the country.
Even after Thakur declined to push charges, deputies and detectives remained concerned about her safety and stayed in contact with her over the following months. Sheriff’s officials said deputies again urged Thakur in May to obtain a restraining order, which she did.
In her court petition for a restraining order, Thakur wrote that she knew Rohit as a DoorDash delivery driver and that he would park outside her home for hours and talk to her on a daily basis, ABC10 reported. Representatives for DoorDash did not respond to questions from The Sacramento Bee about Rohit and his history with the company.
Thakur described to the court the behavior she had reported to sheriff’s deputies. ABC10 reported that she also told the court that Rohit had threatened to shoot himself or anyone she met, and that he had been stalking her since September 2025.
On July 29, Thakur reported to deputies that Rohit had violated the restraining order by leaving random grocery items at her front door. Gandhi said deputies tried to contact Rohit but were not successful.
Investigators are still trying to determine what immediately preceded the killing.
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