HOUSTON: A Texas attorney randomly shot and injured nine people on 26 September, before the police shot and killed him. While the Houston police department did not immediately name the suspect, it later confirmed Indian-American Nathan Desai, 46, as the shooter.
Desai shot at cars and pedestrians from behind a tree, until the police arrived at the scene and took him down. Acting Houston Police Chief Martha Montalvo said nine people were injured in the shooting, three were not seriously injured and were released from the hospital after a check up, three were treated and released the same day, but the remaining three were in a serious condition. Multiple officers engaged with Desai, as other policemen rescued the wounded. Desai was dressed in a vintage Nazi uniform with no body armour. He was found shooting with a semi automatic .45 caliber handgun, and was also in possession of a tommy gun. Both the weapons were purchased legally.
The police also found more than 2600 rounds of ammunition in his car. Houston Police Department Homicide Captain Dwayne Ready told the media that no motive has been established for the shootings yet. "We believe he was acting alone." He also said the suspect was also armed with a knife.
Nathan Desai had received his law degree from the University of Tulsa, and began his practice in 2003. His law partner Ken McDaniel said they shut down their boutique law firm recently, due to financial reasons. "I guess the best way to put it is just the business was slower than it's been. And we felt that we could probably be better off going on our own and assuming our own private practices rather than a partnership situation," McDaniel said. "He was always at work every day, we always went to court, did his work. He was a good lawyer, good standing with the bar. I'm at a loss for words for what has happened. It's horrible."
Desai's father, Prakash, a retired geologist said, "He was upset." He noted that Nathan was licensed to carry guns, because of the nature of his law practice.
