Grad student shot at off-campus apartment complex

Duke graduate student Abhijit Mahato was shot and killed at an off-campus apartment complex at 1600 Anderson Street Friday night.

The Durham Police Department responded to a report of an injured man at about 11:30 p.m. Mahato was found inside an apartment and pronounced dead at the scene. DPD has not determined a motive for the shooting, according to a University statement.

The location is about one and a half miles from West Campus, near Chapel Hill Road.

Mahato, 29, was a second-year Ph.D. student in engineering, focusing on computational mechanics. He was born in Tatangar, India.

Larry Moneta, vice president for student affairs, said in a statement that counseling would be offered, and that the University had begun efforts to reach out both to Mahato's friends and family and to Indian and other international students at Duke.

"This is a tragic circumstance, and we are doing everything possible to assist those who may be affected by it," Moneta said.

Students were informed of the incident via an e-mail around 4:30 Saturday morning.

Anyone with information related to the shooting is asked to call DPD Sgt. Jack Cates at 560-4440, ext. 262, Duke University Police Department at (919) 684-2444 or Durham Crimestoppers at (919) 683-1200. CrimeStoppers pays cash rewards for information leading to arrests in felony cases and callers do not have to identify themselves.