US CENTCOM chief calls Gen Bajwa, condoles over Sabika's death

RAWALPINDI: Commander United States Central Command General Joseph Votel extended his condolences over the tragic death of Sabika Sheikh in a call to Chief of Army Staff(COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa on Tuesday, tweeted DG ISPR Major General Asif Ghafoor 

Sabika Sheikh, a Pakistani exchange student studying in the US facilitated by the Kennedy-Lugar Youth Exchange and Study (YES) programme along with ten classmates was killed when a teenage classmate armed with a shotgun and a revolver opened fire in a Texas high school

The tweet added that General Votel conveyed his grief to bereaved family on loss of an innocent life. 

Flight carrying Sabika's body delayed, to arrive early Wednesday

It is now expected to land in Karachi sometime around 3 AM Wednesday

The gunman — arrested on murder charges — was identified as Dimitrios Pagourtzis, a 17-year-old junior at Santa Fe High School. He was being held on capital murder charges, meaning that he could face the death penalty.

The body of Sheikh will arrive in Karachi on early Wednesday morning.

Funeral prayers offered in Houston

On Sunday, the funeral prayers for Sabika were offered at a local mosque in Houston after Namaz-e-Zuhr.

The funeral service was scheduled by the Pakistani Consulate in Houston at Sugar Land's Masjid Sabireen.

Hundreds of people, including grief-stricken families of southwestern Texas, gathered to join the funeral, including officials of the Pakistani Consulate in Houston, local members of the United States Congress, members of the Pakistani diaspora and students of Santa Fe High School.