Purdue Asian students feel grief after homicide in dorm room
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (WISH) —Charges could be filed soon against a Purdue student accused of killing his 20-year-old roommate from Indianapolis.
A day later, a lot of students were in mourning.
- Police: Suspect calls 911 after killing roommate in Purdue dorm room
- Hundreds of Boilermakers gather to honor slain classmate
The student who died, Varun Chheda, and the suspect are members of the Asian community, so the tragedy is hitting that part of the student body hard.
The memorial continues to grow at the Unfinished Block P statue on campus. There are dozens of notes, flowers, and candles on the ground. This is a moment of sadness, but students say it’s also symbolic showing the value in facing this tragedy together.
On a campus of more than 50,000 students, the tragic news spread fast.
International student Gabriel Ogbalor said, “The thing on my mind was I had to tell my parents I was not the student, because by that time they hadn’t reviewed the name so parents were worrying.”
“I can’t say I feel their pain, but I can imagine like, how hard it is to take a huge loss like that,” Ogbalor said.
Chheda was killed early Wednesday in his dorm room, and police say his roommate Ji Min Sha killed him.
Camille Lerason, the president of the Asian Student Union Board, said, “A lot of people feel lost in the situation. I felt lost when I heard about it.”
“Both the perpetrator and the victim are Asian Americans which is a contradiction,” she said in reference to other concerns around violence against Asians.
The Unfinished Block P memorial has seen a lot of tears and welcomed prayers, but the healing is not here quite yet.
Lerason said, “Its so heartbreaking. I got a couple of texts from my parents and all I could think about was if it was me, so I have so much grief and so much sorrow for his family.”
She says the Asian groups on campus have a series of resources hoping to ensure people feeling the pain the most don’t feel alone.
So far, police haven’t given a motive, only saying the attack was unprovoked.
It’s not clear if the victims were friends aside from being just roommates.
Visitation for Chheda will be Saturday in the Indianapolis area.