He Came to America to Study. He Worked Nights to Pay His Fees. He Was Shot Dead Delivering a Pizza. Anshul Kuncha Was 28.

A 28-year-old MBA student from Telangana was lured to a vacant Philadelphia building with a fake pizza order and shot in the back of the head. His sister says it was a deliberate trap. His employer called him a ‘great kid.’ He is the second Pete’s Pizza delivery driver killed in two years. Here is the full story — and the question every Indian in America is asking right now.

🚨 Victim: Anshul Kuncha, 28. From Gundlapochampally, Medchal-Malkajgiri district, Telangana. MBA student at Temple University, Philadelphia. Worked as a part-time pizza delivery driver on weekends to fund his studies. Shot in the back of the head at close range on the night of June 6–7, 2026, after completing a delivery to a vacant unit at 2300 block of Edgley Street, Raymond Rosen Homes, North Philadelphia.

🍕 What Happened: A Fake Order, a Vacant Building, a Trap

Shortly after midnight on Friday-Saturday, Anshul accepted a pizza delivery order through his employer Pete’s Pizza in North Philadelphia. The order led him to Raymond Rosen Homes — a housing complex where the delivery address turned out to be a vacant unit.

Surveillance footage reviewed by police shows two individuals following Kuncha as he made his delivery. After he exited the building, he was shot in the back of the head at point-blank range. His killers fled the scene. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

His sister Tanvi told reporters the attack was premeditated: “It was a trap, meant solely to kill him. Even in the past he was robbed of money, cell phone and all his belongings on the streets of Philadelphia.” She has appealed to the Indian Consulate in New York to help repatriate Anshul’s body to Telangana.

Indian Consulate response: “We are deeply saddened by the untimely demise of Mr Anshul Kuncha, an Indian national in Philadelphia, PA. Our thoughts and heartfelt condolences to his family. The Consulate is in touch with Anshul’s family and is extending all possible assistance.” — India in New York (@IndiainNewYork), June 6, 2026

🗒️ The Pattern That Cannot Be Ignored

Anshul Kuncha is not the first Pete’s Pizza employee to be killed. A 29-year-old delivery driver was gunned down in front of the same store in 2024. Two delivery workers from the same small Philadelphia restaurant murdered in two years. Philadelphia’s homicide rate is among the highest of any major US city, and delivery workers — who are required to go to unfamiliar locations, often at night, often alone — are disproportionately targeted by criminals

For Indian students in the US, Anshul’s death arrives in a context that is already deeply unsettling. In the past 18 months: a Sikh engineer shot in his driveway in California. A Hindu student beaten outside a temple in New Jersey. A tech worker attacked on a New York subway. Each incident was called isolated. The cumulative picture is anything but.

What the data shows: The Stop AAPI Hate Report found that more than 75% of anti-Asian slurs in 2025 targeted South Asians. The Center for the Study of Organised Hate documented 474 posts framing Indians as ‘invaders’ generating 111.8 million views in one analysis period. FBI hate crime statistics show South Asian-targeted incidents have risen consecutively for four years. This is not a series of coincidences.

🇮🇳 What Indian Families Sending Children to the US Need to Know

India sends more international students to the United States than any other country — over 330,000 Indian students are currently enrolled in American universities. Most work part-time jobs — cafes, restaurants, delivery services, campus jobs — to manage their living costs alongside tuition fees. Night-shift delivery work is particularly common because it pays more and fits around class schedules.

It is also one of the most dangerous jobs in American cities. Research consistently shows that delivery drivers, gig workers, and overnight-shift workers are five to seven times more likely to be victims of violent crime than office workers. The risk is not unique to Indians — but Indians are disproportionately in this category because of the financial pressures of studying abroad.

If you or someone you know is an Indian student in the US:

• Always verify the delivery address before leaving. If it is an unfamiliar building or a housing project, inform your employer and request confirmation.
• Never deliver to visibly vacant buildings, abandoned units, or locations with no visible activity.
• Keep your emergency contacts updated. Save the nearest Indian consulate number: Indian Consulate New York: +1-212-774-0600
• Register with the Indian Consulate’s Madad portal if you are a student or long-term resident in the US.

The call for accountability: Philadelphia police say they are investigating — tracing the phone number used to place the fake order and reviewing surveillance footage. No arrests have been made. Anshul’s family is waiting for his body to be returned home. His employer called him a ‘great kid.’ He was 28 years old, studying for an MBA, working night shifts to build a future. He deserved to come home.

❓ Quick FAQs

Who was Anshul Kuncha?

Anshul Kuncha was a 28-year-old MBA student at Temple University in Philadelphia, originally from Gundlapochampally village in Medchal-Malkajgiri district, Telangana. He had been living in the US for nearly four years and worked part-time as a pizza delivery driver on weekends to fund his education.

How did Anshul Kuncha die?

He was shot in the back of the head at point-blank range in North Philadelphia on the night of June 6–7, 2026, after delivering pizza to what his family believes was a fake order at a vacant unit in Raymond Rosen Homes on Edgley Street. Surveillance footage showed two individuals following him before the attack. No arrests have been made as of June 7, 2026.

What is the Indian government doing?

The Indian Consulate in New York confirmed it is “in touch with Anshul’s family and extending all possible assistance” to help repatriate his body to India. The External Affairs Ministry has been informed. His family has formally requested assistance from the consulate.