Prayer vigil held for man gunned down in Houston park

06:29 PM CDT on Friday, August 12, 2005

By Jason Whitely / 11 News

Click to watch video

Friends and co-workers are mourning the loss of a man killed Thursday at a southwest Houston park. Many gathered at the scene of the crime Friday to hold a vigil in his honor.

KHOU

28-year-old Akhil Chopra is remembered as a "noble soul" who taught meditation in his spare time.

Co-workers, some crying, crowded into the park's gazebo to remember.

On Thursday, 28-year-old Akhil Chopra left for lunch and never returned to work.

His bosses found his car in a park down the street.

"We saw his car. That's when I asked the police officer and he told me exactly what happened," said Girish Naik, Chopra's boss at Star Pipe. "That's when we found out at first that he is no more with us."

Chopra was inside the gazebo on his lunch break when he was shot to death.

KHOU

Chopra was gunned down inside the gazebo where he may have gone to meditate.

His wallet was missing, too.

Friends figure the Indian native came here to meditate -- as he often did.

"He had his eyes closed. Normally he did that while meditating. So someone came around and held him at gunpoint. That's where he was shot at the right temple," said Ramesh Bhutada, president of Star Pipe. "[They] probably asked for his wallet or money or whatever and he probably didn't even hear the guy."

Chopra is remembered as a devout Hindu.

Twice he rode the MS 150 charity bike race.

In May, colleagues threw a surprise party at work for his 28th birthday because he had no relatives in Houston.

And Tuesday, just two days before his murder, Akhil was among the staff to donate blood.

His bosses at Star Pipe had already lowered the flags to half staff.

"As you probably saw, so many people are shedding tears for him because he touched everyone," said Bhutada.

After gathering, his co-workers streamed out of the gazebo and back down the street to work.

At his desk in the IT department, friends left flowers and pictures for an innocent victim of violent crime.

Detectives believe robbery was the motive, but they have few clues and no suspects in the case.

If you know anything about the crime, call Crime Stoppers 713-222-TIPS.