DALLAS: A horrifying incident has sent shockwaves across the community in East Dallas, Texas after a 50-year-old Indian-origin man was brutally murdered and beheaded by his co-worker in front of his wife and teenage son.

The gruesome incident took place early morning on September 10 at the Downtown Suites Motel located on Samuell Boulevard, where the victim, Chandra Nagamallaiah, had been working as a manager for the past three years.

According to Dallas police, the dispute began when Nagamallaiah told his employee, Yordanis Cobos-Martinez, not to use a broken washing machine. The argument quickly escalated into a violent confrontation.

Suddenly, Cobos-Martinez pulled out a knife and repeatedly stabbed Nagamallaiah, forcing him to flee toward the motel office while badly injured. Nagamallaiah’s wife and 18-year-old son, who were already inside the office, desperately tried to intervene, but Cobos-Martinez was unstoppable.

The suspect beheaded Nagamallaiah in front of his family, then kicked the severed head toward the parking lot before later placing it in a dumpster. The chilling scene was captured on the motel’s security cameras, which showed a trail of blood stretching from the room to the front office.

The US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) called the killing “unthinkable” and admitted that Cobos-Martinez had been released from ICE custody earlier in 2025 under an order of supervision due to the lack of available deportation flights to Cuba. 

ICE acknowledged that, in hindsight, releasing him had been a mistake and that he should not have been free.

The suspect, a Cuban national, has now been arrested and charged with capital murder. He is currently being held at the Dallas County Jail, and detectives have obtained a search warrant to collect additional evidence from the crime scene.

Nagamallaiah, originally from the Indian state of Karnataka, was known as a hardworking, honest, and family-oriented man who deeply cared for his loved ones.

The Consulate General of India in Houston expressed deep sorrow over the incident, stating:

“We are in continuous contact with the bereaved family and providing all possible assistance. The accused is in Dallas Police custody, and we are closely monitoring the case.”

The shocking murder has left not only the Indian community but also other Asian immigrant groups in deep grief and anger.

On social media platform X (formerly Twitter), many users expressed outrage over the lack of mainstream media coverage and raised serious concerns about the safety of immigrant workers and the rising incidents of anti-Asian violence.

 

US Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau on Thursday warned that Washington may take action against foreigners “praising, rationalising, or making light” of the killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, adding he had directed consular officials to take appropriate action.

“In light of yesterday’s horrific assassination of a leading political figure, I want to underscore that foreigners who glorify violence and hatred are not welcome visitors to our country,” Landau said in a post on social media platform X.

“I have been disgusted to see some on social media praising, rationalising, or making light of the event, and have directed our consular officials to undertake appropriate action.”

Landau did not elaborate on what such action would mean.

Some users replied to Landau’s post with screenshots of accounts and posts, though it was unclear if the accounts they flagged were US visa holders.

The State Department’s number two then replied to some of those comments, saying he would direct consular officials to monitor the comments on the post, which as of Thursday afternoon had over 2,000 replies.

A State Department spokesperson, asked about Landau’s post, said: “This Administration does not believe that the United States should grant visas to persons whose presence in our country does not align with US national security interests.”

But the spokesperson did not address questions on whether anybody had been identified to have their visa revoked or how consular officials would evaluate those flagged in response to Landau’s post.

Kirk, a 31-year-old author, podcast host and close ally of US President Donald Trump, helped build the Republican Party’s support among younger voters. He was killed on Wednesday by a single gunshot as he gave a talk at a university in Utah in what President Donald Trump called a “heinous assassination.”

The Trump administration has pursued a sweeping crackdown on immigration, including increasing social media vetting and revoking thousands of student visas and aiming to tighten the duration of others.

The US Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, was placed on a security lockdown on Thursday while military personnel and local law enforcement investigated reports of threats to the installation, the Navy said on the academy’s Facebook page.

There was no immediate official word on the nature of the reported threat. But Fox News, citing multiple sources inside the academy, said a former midshipman who had been expelled from the school had returned to campus armed with a weapon.

According to the Fox News report, gunshots were heard inside Bancroft Hall, which houses the midshipmen.

According to the Facebook statement from Naval Support Activity Annapolis, the “base is on lockdown out of an abundance of caution.”

 It said Navy support personnel, in coordination with local law enforcement, were “responding to reports of threats made to the Naval Academy.”