On March 31, 2021, 32-year-old Indian American software engineer Sharif Rehman Khan was fatally shot while visiting an apartment in the 700 block of West Canterbury Road in University City, a suburb of St. Louis, Missouri. Khan, a native of Bhopal who worked for the IT firm Birlasoft, was at the residence of a female friend when the incident occurred during the afternoon.
He sustained multiple gunshot wounds and was transported to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
The shooting reportedly stemmed from an altercation with 23-year-old Cole J. Miller of Maplewood, who allegedly entered the apartment and engaged in a confrontation with Khan. Investigators indicated that Miller had developed a romantic fixation on the woman who lived there, despite her lack of interest, and had previously contacted police with unfounded claims that she was being trafficked. During the encounter inside the apartment, an argument escalated into a physical struggle where Khan reportedly punched Miller or knocked a phone from his hand. Miller then fired three shots at Khan before fleeing the scene.
Law enforcement officers located and arrested Miller later that evening at a bar and grill on South Big Bend Boulevard in Maplewood. A search of his truck revealed a. 380-caliber Ruger LCP handgun, which had been reported stolen in Franklin County, along with shell casings at the crime scene that matched the weapon. Prosecutors charged Miller with second-degree murder, armed criminal action, and receiving stolen property. At the time of his arrest, he was held on a $500,000 cash-only bond. Community members and family later remembered Khan as a selfless individual, with some describing his actions that day as heroic in protecting others present during the confrontation.
