Gaurav Chopra, 19, of Alton, in the Rio Grande Valley, is being held at the Hidalgo County Adult Detention Center on charges of capital murder of multiple persons, attempted capital murder of multiple persons, felony evading police and aggravated assault, Hidalgo County Sheriff J.E. “Eddie” Guerra said during a news conference on Thursday, June 18.
Investigators believe Chopra killed his mother, father and maternal grandmother, and tried to kill his 21-year-old brother, at their Alton home in the gated Tuscany Village subdivision before fleeing from law enforcement on Tuesday, June 16.
Guerra identified the deceased victims as Chopra’s father, Sweeta Ram, 56, mother Kamlesh Rani, 46, and maternal grandmother, Minder Kaur, 73. He did not identify the brother who survived the alleged attack.
“All of them died of gunshot wounds to the head,” Guerra said.
The investigation began Tuesday night, when Chopra’s older brother called 911 at 9:13 p.m. to report that Chopra “had killed his family and had just left the residence driving a white Lexus,” Guerra said. Alton police officers soon found the Lexus and attempted to initiate a traffic stop, but Chopra allegedly fled, sparking a pursuit. The chase ended when Chopra crashed into two other vehicles.
“At the same time, another Alton police officer arrived at the residence and discovered two deceased individuals on the second floor of the home,” Guerra said.
Those two victims would later be identified as Chopra’s mother and grandmother. His father, who had also been shot in the head, was found still alive and immediately transported to a local hospital, but later succumbed to his injuries.
“Investigators also concluded that our suspect attempted to kill his brother, but he missed when he fired one shot at him,” Guerra said.
Investigators later recovered a 9mm handgun from the scene of the crash. Though Guerra declined to say who owned the weapon, he did say that Chopra’s father had a license to carry. Officials described Chopra as a student at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, but declined to speculate on a possible motive for the multiple homicides. Alton Police Chief Mark Perez said his department has no history of prior calls for service at the family’s Alton home.
Guerra described Chopra’s father, Sweeta Ram, as a respected businessman who owned businesses in nearby Palmview, including a motel and an event center. Public records show Chopra as the owner of Chopra Hospitality LLC.
“He was a very, very well-liked individual. He was very cooperative, always helped out anybody in need, (from) what I’ve been told,” Guerra said.