Man kills woman in Sacramento Panera parking lot after months of stalking, then dies in highway standoff

A 22-year-old man identified as Rohit Rohit shot and killed a 38-year-old woman in the parking lot of a Panera Bread restaurant at Howe and Northrop avenues in Sacramento on Tuesday afternoon, according to the county sheriff's office. The incident was reported at about 3 p.m.

Sheriff's Lt. Amar Gandhi said Rohit had been stalking the victim for months, beginning after she discovered an Apple AirTag hidden under her car in January. Investigators said the suspect had repeatedly harassed the woman, including deflating her tire, following her to work, obtaining a copy of her apartment key and entering her home while she slept. Although the woman initially declined to press charges, she later obtained a restraining order in May, and a report on July 29 indicated Rohit violated that order by leaving grocery items at her door.

On the day of the shooting, Rohit parked near the Panera, approached the woman, and, after she attempted to flee, pursued and shot her multiple times, including a close-range headshot. Witnesses provided a license-plate image that helped deputies locate his vehicle within minutes using the Flock license-plate-reader system. Deputies from the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office and SacRT found the car near Highway 50 and Watt Avenue.

When officers attempted to stop the vehicle, Rohit stopped on the freeway, refused to exit, and later died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Aerial footage showed law-enforcement officers surrounding the car with weapons drawn and drones assisting the response.

The standoff caused Highway 50 to be closed for several hours. Earlier that day, a separate pursuit on the same highway resulted in another fatal shooting, and a pedestrian was later killed after being struck by a vehicle on Highway 50 that night.