SAN JOSE — Indian Americans Naren Prabhu, vice president of engineering at Juniper Networks, and his wife, Raynah Sequeira Prabhu, were gunned down this week at their San Jose, Calif., home by their daughter’s ex-boyfriend, according to news reports. The lone suspect, Mirza Tatlic, 24, was killed by local police after a two-hour stand-off.
“A mentally ill young man, apparently bent on revenge after a failed romance, gunned down his ex-girlfriend’s parents in their Willow Glen home and held their 13-year-old son hostage,” the Mercury News reported quoting police. “The boy’s father was shot at the front door and police later found his mother inside the home. Neighbors who saw the boy shortly after his release, clad only in shorts and shoes, said he was trembling and sobbing as an officer tried to comfort him.”
The Mercury News reported that incident began shortly after 9 p.m. Wednesday and ended after a two-hour standoff that was marked by negotiations over the boy’s release and ended when the 24-year-old gunman was shot by a San Jose police special tactics marksman after he pointed his weapon at officers from inside the home.
“Police said the gunman had been in a relationship that ended last year with the victims’ daughter, and since then he’d been the subject of a restraining order,” the Mercury News said, quoting San Jose police Chief Eddie Garcia saying that “the extent of how that really got to this individual remains to be investigated and thoroughly vetted out.”
In a chilling phone conversation with police during the standoff, the man said he killed her parents to cause her pain, just as she had caused him pain by breaking up with him, the newspaper reported quoting a source.
Garcia called it “a tragic incident perpetrated by evil,” adding that the man has a history of mental illness, domestic violence and driving under the influence. He said police don’t know where the man got the handgun that was used in the crime, but it was not registered to him, the Mercury News said.
India West newspaper quoted an e-mailed statement from Juniper Networks saying that the company mourned the loss of their vice president. “Juniper Networks is deeply saddened by the recent loss of a long-time employee. We are focused on supporting our employees and their families through this difficult time.”
“The company is mobilizing global support systems and providing help to assist the authorities and members of our community who have been affected,” said the company, reported India West
