Akhil Sai Mahankali, 25, was killed by a gunshot to the head at his workplace in Montgomery, Alabama. Mahankali was a graduate student at Auburn University in Montgomery and worked part-time at a local gas station. He had moved to the United States just over a year earlier; his parents in India had taken out a significant loan to fund his education.

The shooting occurred on a Sunday evening while a 23-year-old coworker and fellow Indian national, Raviteja Goli, was showing Mahankali a recently acquired handgun. Goli believed he had cleared the weapon, but one round remained in the chamber. The gun discharged when Mahankali handled it. Emergency services transported him to a hospital, where he was later pronounced dead.

Goli was arrested at the scene and charged with manslaughter; he is being held at the Montgomery County Detention Facility. Anyone with information about Mahankali, his time in Montgomery, or the incident is asked to come forward.