23-year-old Telangana student dies after gun misfires in US on birthday

In a tragic turn of events, a 23-year-old student from Telangana died in the United States after he accidentally misfired from his gun on his birthday.

The deceased has been identified as Aryan Reddy, a native of Telangana's Uppal, who was pursuing Master's degree at Georgia State University. The incident occurred on November 13.

Reddy’s body is expected to arrive in Telangana on Friday night. As per media reports, Aryan had got a hunting gun licence in the US. The Indian student took the hunting gun that he had brought recently to clean it, ending up accidentally firing.

Also read: 633 Indian students died abroad in last 5 yrs due to various reasons: Govt data

The misfired bullet struck his chest, according to the officials. His friends, who were in the flat but in another room, heard the gunshot and rushed to his room and found him lying in a pool of blood. They rushed him to the hospital where he was declared dead.

Speaking to the media, Aryan’s father, Sudarshan Reddy, expressed profound grief and urged other parents to exercise caution about their children obtaining gun licence while studying abroad. “We were unaware that students could acquire hunting gun licences there. No parent should ever face such a tragedy,” he was quoted as saying by India Today.

Notably, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana account for nearly 56 per cent of Indian students. The US consular chief in Hyderabad, Rebekah Drame, highlighted that the consulate conducted over 47,000 student visa interviews in the 2024 summer season, up from 35,000 in 2023. Public affairs officer Alexander McLaren emphasised the demand for visas, stating that India sent nearly 3.3 lakh students to the US last year, with most pursuing master’s degrees.