The rapid search after Shalini Thakur’s killing contrasts with a stalking case that had generated warnings, police reports and a restraining order.
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Within minutes of Shalini Thakur’s fatal shooting, witnesses had given Sacramento County deputies information about the fleeing vehicle and an automated license-plate system had helped locate it near Highway 50. The fast-moving search ended with the suspected shooter dead, but investigators were already familiar with the stalking allegations that preceded the attack.
The response on Sept. 8 presents two sharply different timelines in the same case. After gunfire was reported near a Panera Bread on Howe Avenue, deputies quickly identified and located the vehicle authorities say was driven by 22-year-old Rohit Rohit. Yet the investigation that emerged afterward showed Thakur, 38, had been reporting unwanted behavior for months, had obtained a civil harassment restraining order and had reported a possible violation in July. Sheriff’s officials say they had repeatedly encouraged her to seek protection and later tried unsuccessfully to locate Rohit.
Several witnesses reported the shooting shortly before 3 p.m., according to a Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office release. Investigators say Rohit had arrived at the shopping center before Thakur, whose vehicle was already parked there. She was dropped off near the car, and Rohit approached her. Thakur tried to run when he confronted her, authorities said. Rohit chased her and fired multiple shots, then approached after she fell and shot her again at close range. Responding deputies found Thakur at the scene, where she was pronounced dead.
Information from people in the parking lot immediately became central to the search. The sheriff’s office said witnesses provided a description of Rohit’s vehicle. Deputies entered that information into the Flock license-plate camera system and received a recent location for it. Regional Transit deputies then found the vehicle near Highway 50 and Howe Avenue. Sheriff Jim Cooper later said publicly that authorities were able to locate the vehicle within minutes. The search demonstrated how witness information and camera data could be combined in real time after the killing had already occurred.
When deputies tried to stop the vehicle, the driver abruptly braked and came to a stop, according to the sheriff’s office. Officers attempted for some time to call the driver out. They eventually found Rohit dead inside from what appeared to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound. The law-enforcement response led to a closure of Highway 50 between Howe and Watt avenues for hours, local media reported. Rohit’s death meant investigators would have to reconstruct the reasons for his actions without questioning him or presenting the evidence in a later criminal prosecution.
That reconstruction quickly led detectives back through months of reported conduct involving Thakur. Sheriff’s officials said they learned Rohit had been harassing and stalking her since at least January. Court records obtained by local television stations pushed the beginning of the alleged pattern back further: Thakur wrote that the stalking began in September 2025 and had steadily become more frequent and severe. The difference reflects the point at which investigators say specific incidents became known to them versus the longer history Thakur described herself in court.
Among the incidents authorities highlighted was Thakur’s discovery of an Apple AirTag concealed under the hood of her vehicle in January. Investigators also said Rohit let air out of one of her tires and later followed her to work so he could offer help. Thakur wrote in court papers that Rohit acknowledged interfering with her vehicle. Those allegations suggested an attempt not simply to contact her but to monitor her whereabouts and create opportunities to appear in her daily routine.
The allegations reached inside her home as well. According to the sheriff’s office, Rohit obtained a copy of Thakur’s apartment key and entered while she was asleep. Officials said he later claimed he had become worried when she did not respond and entered to check on her. In her restraining-order request, Thakur described attempts to pressure her into marriage and prevent her from socializing with others. She also said Rohit threatened violence against himself or other people if she rejected him, according to news organizations that reviewed the documents.
Authorities say Thakur did not initially want to pursue criminal charges or obtain a restraining order. Deputies and detectives nevertheless continued communicating with her because they were worried about her safety. In May, sheriff’s officials again urged her to seek a court order, which she did. Court records show Rohit was served with temporary restraining-order papers on May 19. CBS Sacramento later reported that the order was scheduled to remain effective until May 2027.
Police contact continued after the order was issued. On July 29, Thakur reported that Rohit had left random groceries at her front door, which she said violated the restriction. Sgt. Amar Gandhi said detectives investigated and attempted to locate Rohit but could not find him on multiple attempts. Gandhi said the offenses involved at the time were treated as misdemeanors. No public record cited by authorities indicates that Rohit was taken into custody over the reported July incident before Thakur was killed in September.
Thakur’s death transformed those earlier reports into a focus of public scrutiny. Her mother, Sudesh Kumari, said her daughter had contacted police many times and questioned why she was not protected more effectively. Kumari had traveled from India to Sacramento to stay with her only daughter. After the shooting, she visited a growing memorial at the shopping center. Family members described Thakur as hardworking, caring and generous. She had been expected to celebrate her 39th birthday later in September, according to the Los Angeles Times.
The workplace connection also became part of investigators’ account of how Rohit first encountered Thakur. CBS Sacramento confirmed that she worked at an IHOP in the Arden area. Rohit was a DoorDash driver who picked up food there. Authorities have not said he was working for DoorDash when Thakur was killed. The delivery work instead explains the initial point of contact that, according to investigators and court filings, later developed into repeated unwanted attention away from the restaurant.
Sheriff’s officials have emphasized that deputies stayed involved after learning of the earlier conduct. They say investigators continued speaking with Thakur, encouraged her to seek the restraining order and later attempted to reach Rohit following the July report. Kumari’s criticism raises a different issue: whether those steps were enough once the behavior had escalated to tracking, unauthorized home entry and threats described in the court filing. With both Thakur and Rohit dead, that question is now being examined through records rather than through a criminal trial.
Federal officials later added another dimension by releasing information about Rohit’s immigration history. The Department of Homeland Security said he was an Indian national who entered the country unlawfully through Arizona in August 2023, was apprehended by Border Patrol and was subsequently released. DHS framed that history as criticism of the prior administration’s immigration policies. Sacramento investigators, however, have described the homicide principally through the documented stalking history, restraining order, reported violation and events at the shopping center.
The sheriff’s office says one part of the timeline is still incomplete. Detectives continue to investigate the immediate circumstances preceding the attack, including what happened as Thakur arrived and before Rohit confronted her. The witnesses and camera system allowed deputies to identify and find his vehicle rapidly after the shooting. The larger case now centers on the much longer record that came before those few minutes and what can be established from Thakur’s reports, court documents and investigators’ prior contacts.
Author note: Last updated October 21, 2026.