A chilling video shows Austin tech entrepreneur Rajan “Raj” Moonesinghe being shot dead by local police while gun in hand scouring the perimeter of his home for an intruder.
Moonesinghe, 33, a successful tech entrepreneur who moved to the area about five years ago, was killed on November 15 on the porch of his home in an affluent south Austin neighborhood. As he lay dying he said the words, ‘It wasn’t me.’
Around 12:30 a.m., Moonesinghe told a neighbor that someone was at his home and he was going to call 911, the WSJ reported.
Police arrived at the scene just five minutes later, shortly after Moonesinghe fired two shots into his own living room – firing the four shots that killed the businessman.
Raj Moonesinghe, 33, just before he was fatally shot by Austin police while conducting a perimeter inspection of his home, which he believed someone had entered as an intruder
Across the street from his home, a neighbor’s private security guard had already called the police to report what Moonesinghe was doing.
The guard, in a call to a dispatcher, said, “He seems almost scared of something in his house.”
“He’s aiming the rifle at the inside of his house,” he said, before calling Moonesinghe into his living room before firing inside.
As soon as they arrived, Officer Daniel Sanchez shouted, “Drop the gun,” though he started firing before he could finish the sentence.
It’s likely Moonesinghe hadn’t heard anything before he was hit, as bullets travel faster than the speed of sound.
The 33-year-old of Sri Lankan descent was taken to hospital where he succumbed to his injuries shortly afterwards. No one else was injured during the encounter, and police found no intruders at the South Austin home.
The three reporting officers said upon arrival that they could see inside the house because the front door was open.
According to a preliminary autopsy ordered by the victim’s family, Moonesinghe was beaten four times. A full medical report has yet to be released by the district doctor.
A partial image of Officer David Sanchez was captured on bodycam footage as he approached victim Rajan Moonesinghe after fatally shooting him
Raj’s four-bedroom, four-bathroom home in South Austin, outside which he was shot
33-year-old tech entrepreneur Raj Moonesinghe, who was known in his community as a selfless friend and family member and hardworking businessman
Home of the Moonesinghe brothers’ successful financial technology startup, InKind, in Austin, which set out to radically expand throughout 2023
The Austin Police Department has not yet commented on the shooting. Sanchez has been a licensed officer with the force for nearly three years. With him at the scene were Officer Stephen Markert and Officer Luis Brito.
The shooting is still under investigation and Officer Sanchez is on administrative leave. His lawyers said he “trained to protect life.”
The department has launched two investigations, a criminal one conducted by the Special Investigation Unit and the Prosecutor’s Office and an administrative one conducted by the department’s Internal Affairs Division.
Austin Mayor Steve Adler called the death a tragedy, adding that he was awaiting more information before making a decision.
“I have a lot of questions as I know the family has them,” he said. ‘Why did it happen?’
Along with his older brother Johann, Raj ran a financial technology company called InKind, which finances restaurants in advance.
The company has annual sales of $48 million and plans to increase its 50-strong Austin workforce to 180 by the end of 2023.
Moonesinghe’s brother Johann has vowed he will “use all my resources to ensure this doesn’t happen again”, adding that he would prefer to work with local officials in the effort but will surpass them if necessary. Raj is pictured here with his mother
Raj Moonesinghe, who was fatally shot by police on November 15 while searching his home for rifle-armed intruders
After his brother’s tragic death, Johann is unsure about the future of the company and is reluctant to ask anyone to move to Austin after his brother’s fatal shooting because he is unsure if it is safe.
He has now set up a fund in memory of his brother called the Rajan David Moonesinghe Foundation.
The goal of the organization is to prevent a repeat of shootings like the one on his brother.
This could include investing in non-lethal police tools, implicit bias training, and putting up billboards across the country warning tech startups not to move to Austin.
Johann has vowed to use all of his resources to ensure no one else has to go through what he and his family are going through – adding that he would rather work with the city, “but if they’re not going to work with us, I will.” will surpass them.’
The effort has raised $27,000 so far without a $1 million pledge from Doug Ludlow, the CEO of small business assistance firm MainStreet, who has known Raj since childhood.
Ludlow told The Wall Street Journal that if Austin can’t handle its problems with the police, other U.S. cities are in line to become the next startup hub.
“There is massive competition to create new startup hubs. If it’s not a safe community, especially for people of color, you won’t create a tech hub here. period,” he said.
“There are a lot of victims in our position out there that I’m sure went through that and they didn’t have the resources that we have,” Johann said.
“We will do everything we can to make our voice heard. When Raj was buried I made him a promise. I said, ‘Raj, I will be an unstoppable force of justice for you. And I’ll make sure that doesn’t happen to any other family.”
Raj’s devastated family and friends have started a petition to impeach officer Sanchez, which has so far collected nearly 7,000 signatures.
“Officer Sanchez’s action killed our friend and he must be held accountable,” the petition reads, further describing Raj as “a deeply generous and kind person.”
‘Raj didn’t even have a millisecond to comply with the order to put down his rifle. He defended his home, did not harm anyone and as his family/friends we know he would have put down the gun if given the chance.”
A related petition includes instructions on how to call District Attorney Jose Garza to ask him for an update on the case and why, more than 30 days after the fatal shooting, the office has not issued a statement about bringing the case before a grand jury.