An immigrant from Andhra Pradesh who ran a liquor store in Ohio, US, was shot dead by unidentified persons on his work premises early Sunday, according to family sources. Goli Vekat Reddy (47), who was from Karimnagar, had been doing business in the US for 12 years. He was found dead inside his store, Central Liquors, located in Colerain Township, a small town with a population of some 60,000.

Hamilton County sheriff’s chief deputy, Sean Donovan, was quoted in the local media as saying that Reddy had been shot, but he did not provide any more detail.

The police reached the store at 1.29am after his wife, Kavitha, alerted them.

Kavitha, who is a software engineer, tried to contact Reddy on his mobile when he did not arrive home at the usual time. Finding no response, she alerted some friends, who accompanied her to the store and found Reddy in a pool of blood.

A spokesman of the Colerain Township police department told PTI no arrest had been made so far.

“He was very nice man and had excellent relations with locals,” said his brother-in-law Shyam Sundar Reddy, an advocate in Karimnagar. He and his wife have requested the US consulate for an urgent visa to bring the body back.