Dr. Lindley Dodson killed in Austin hostage situation, shooting
Updated 1/27/2021... 5:59 pm CT
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Looking for work after recently arriving to town from California, Dr. Bharat Narumanchi walked into the offices of the Children's Medical Group last Friday and inquired about an unpaid administrative job, according to witnesses and police statements. He spoke to staff members about a recent diagnosis for Stage 4 metastatic cancer and articulated his desire to volunteer in the final three to four months doctors had given him, according to a staff member.
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Four days later, Narumanchi returned to the office, only this time with two duffel bags and two firearms that he used to hold five employees at gunpoint before killing one of the office partners, Dr. Lindley Dodson.
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"Dr. Dodson never had direct contact with this man until yesterday," said Victoria Ishaak, who was working in the office when Narumanchi showed up. Ishaak, who does billing and handles the front desk, said she was surprised when Narumanchi showed up at around closing time, remembering him from days earlier as the doctor who had stopped by to see if the office had any work for him to do. She said, "It took me a few minutes to realize he had a gun." [..]
"They were released because they were not a doctor," Ishaak said. "This guy did not want anything to do with someone who was not a doctor."
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The shooting continued a history of violent or erratic behavior alleged against Narumanchi. In 2012, he was charged with domestic abuse in Hawaii, and the case was later dismissed, court records show.
Court records also detail a contentious child custody battle between Narumanchi and his ex-wife.
In one court filing, Narumanchi comes across as angry and frustrated in seeking to gain full custody of his daughter. He described his ex-wife as "a hapless person from her childhood," who "decided to marry me, a born U.S. citizen and thus gain what she coveted and dreamt of — the U.S. citizenship that eluded her when she lived in the U.S. as a student."
