Stalker fatally shoots California woman after months of harassment, investigators say

Shalini Thakur was supposed to celebrate her 39th birthday this week. Instead, she was laid to rest.

The Sacramento woman was killed last Tuesday by a man who had stalked her for months, according to authorities.

The man, identified as 22-year-old Rohit Rohit, chased Thakur down outside a Panera and shot her multiple times, the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release. After she fell to the ground, he stood over her and shot her in the head, according to the release.

A bystander took a photo of Rohit’s license plate and called 911, according to Sheriff Jim Cooper. Deputies entered the information into Flock’s camera system and located the vehicle nearby along Highway 50, Cooper said in a video released on social media.

Rohit then slammed on his brakes and fatally shot himself, according to investigators.

Rohit had been stalking Thakur since at least January, when she discovered he’d placed an Apple AirTag under the hood of her vehicle, the sheriff’s office said in a news release. He once deflated her tires and followed her to work so he could offer her help, and another time copied the key to her apartment and entered while she was sleeping, claiming he was worried something had happened to her because she hadn’t answered his communications, the release said.

Thakur obtained a restraining order in May, according to the sheriff’s office. In July, Rohit violated the order by dropping off “random grocery items” at her front door, the release states. Although deputies had probable cause to arrest Rohit for the alleged violation, they were unable to find him, the sheriff’s office told KCRA 3.

Thakur’s request for a civil harassment restraining order alleged a pattern of escalating harassment that began in September 2025, KCRA 3 reported. He would often park outside her home for hours and had threatened to shoot himself or others she met, according to court documents cited by the outlet.

Thakur’s mother, Sudesh Kumari, told ABC10 that the system failed her daughter. “She could have been saved,” she said.

Rohit, of India, illegally entered the United States through Arizona in August 2023 and was arrested by the U.S. Border Patrol, according to the Department of Homeland Security. He was later released, a spokesperson wrote in an email.

An online fundraiser described Thakur as “a caring, loving, selfless, and generous young woman who gave so much of herself to others.”

“She was always willing to support people in need, and her kindness left a lasting impact on so many lives,” the organizers wrote. “Her presence mattered deeply to the people who knew and loved her.”