New Haven, CT: New Haven police are investigating its first homicide of the year where a 26-year-old Indian student, Ravi Teja Koyyada, was shot and killed while making a delivery for a Chinese restaurant on January 19.
Police said they found Ravi Teja Koyyada, 26, of Hamden, unresponsive with a gunshot wound in the roadway in the area of Shepard Street and Goodrich Street on Sunday, January 19, shortly before 4 p.m. He was taken to Yale-New Haven Hospital where he was pronounced dead.
The owner of the restaurant, speaking in his native Mandarin, was devastated by the news after he had staff go find Koyyada when he didn’t return.
The owner, who only wanted to be referred to as “Uncle” and didn’t want his face shown, said Koyyada came to Connecticut as a graduate student from India and recently completed his studies. He got to know staff at the restaurant and eventually started helping out with deliveries.
The restaurant owner said he’s looking to help Koyyada’s family in India any way they can and wants people to know he was simply an innocent worker.
Investigators say Koyyada’s car was stolen after the shooting, but officers were able to quickly find it nearby and it was empty.
Confirming the news, the Consulate General of India in New York tweeted: “Deeply saddened to learn about tragic demise of Mr. Ravi Teja in shooting incident in New Haven, Connecticut. @IndiainNewYork is in touch with his family and is extending all possible assistance, including repatriation of his mortal remains to India.”
Earlier on November 30, 2024, a 22-year-old student from Telangana’s Khammam district, Sai Teja Nukarapu, was killed at a gas station near Chicago in the US where he used to work. He had completed BBA in India and was pursuing MBA in the US.
Koyyada’s killing adds to the list of Indian students either killed or who died in the US, which has witnessed a spike in 2024. At least 11 Indian or Indian-origin students died in the North American country in 2024.
There’s no word on any arrests right now. Anyone who has any information is being urged to contact to call New Haven Police detectives at 203-946-6304 or the department's anonymous tip-line at 866-888-TIPS (8477).
