The parents of the Pakistani exchange student who was murdered during a mass school shooting in Texas on Friday, are now grieving for their daughter from 8,000 miles away.
Sabika Sheikh, 18, was one of the 10 people killed in Friday morning's Santa Fe High School shooting in Santa Fe, Texas, carried out by 17-year-old Dimitrios Pagourtzis. At least 10 others were wounded during his deadly rampage.
She had been enrolled at Santa Fe High as part of the Kennedy-Lugar Youth Exchange & Study Abroad program (YES) at the time of the shooting.
Sabika's father, Abdul Aziz Sheikh, a businessman in his mid-40s, said he couldn't believe what happened to his daughter, the oldest of his four children.
Sabika's father, Abdul Aziz Sheikh, a businessman in his mid-40s, said he couldn't believe what happened to his daughter, the oldest of his four children.
'We are still in a state of denial. We can't believe it. It's like a nightmare,' Abdul said Saturday, while sitting on the ground floor of his home in Karachi, Pakistan, surrounded by mourning friends, relatives and local politicians that arrived to give their condolences.
Sabika had left Karachi in August and wasn't due to travel back until mid-June, in time for Eid al-Fitr, the religious holiday marking the end of Ramadan.
Sheikh said he first found out about the tragedy when he sat down to watch TV after iftar, the fast-breaking meal.
He saw a report about the shooting on a local news channel, and switched frantically between other channels to watch the live coverage of the aftermath.
'I called her but she did not reply. I kept calling and sending her messages,' Abdul said. 'My daughter always replies. Or at least sends a message saying she'll call back soon. But yesterday, that didn't happen.'
Abdul then called her friends, but they weren't responding either.
Cc:dailymail
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