California has incredibly restrictive gun laws, but they failed to prevent an illegal immigrant from getting ahold of a gun and using it to murder the woman he'd been stalking for months. Those laws impose hurdle after hurdle on law-abiding Californians who want a gun for self-defense. None of those hurdles, though, stopped Shalini Thakur's alleged killer from getting his hands on one.
Thakur was murdered last week, and authorities say 22-year-old Rohit Rohit was her killer. Rohit allegedly entered the United States illegally three years ago, and according to the Department of Homeland Security he was arrested and released into the U.S. by the Biden administration.
Rohit settled in California, where the state's sanctuary policies afforded him some level of security, even after he popped up on the radar of Sacramento police because of his obsession with Thakur.
In May of this year, Thakur filed for a civil harassment restraining order against Rohit, alleging that he'd been stalking her since September 2025. Thakur wrote that she first drew Rohit's attention at the IHOP where she worked, and where Rohit would pick up orders as a DoorDasher. By the time she filed for the restraining order, she'd already been subjected to months of harassment, and though she declined to file criminal charges against Rohit (perhaps concerned that it would only escalate his behavior), she eventually accepted the advice of police officers who urged her to get an order of protection.
She described an April 23 incident in which Rohit allegedly parked outside her home for hours while waiting to communicate with her. She called that behavior a “daily occurrence.”
Thakur also accused Rohit of tampering with her vehicle by removing air from its tires and installing a tracking device without her knowledge or consent. According to her written declaration, Rohit later admitted to the alleged tampering.
She further alleged that Rohit attempted to coerce her into marriage and prevent her from socializing with other people.
When the court form asked whether Rohit had used or threatened to use a weapon, Thakur checked “yes.”
“Threatened to shoot himself or anyone that I meet,” she wrote.
Thakur's request was granted, but Rohit allegedly violated the no-contact order in July when he dropped off groceries at her home. Then, on September 8, Rohit accosted Thakur outside of a Panera Bread in California's capitol city.
Authorities said they are still investigating the immediate events that led up to the fatal shooting but have learned Rohit was waiting for Thakur at a local shopping center, where she was dropped off at her own vehicle a short time after. It's unclear who dropped her off or where she was coming from.
Rohit approached Thakur "and began to accost her," the Sacramento County Sheriff's Office said in the news release, adding, "As the victim attempted to run away, Rohit chased her down, pulled out a firearm, and shot her multiple times." Thakur fell to the ground and Rohit fired additional shots, the sheriff's office said.
Rohit fled the scene, and as police closed in on his car he allegedly took his own life with the same gun he'd used to kill Thakur.
Police haven't said how Rohit got ahold of the weapon, but if DHS is correct that he was illegally present in the United States, we already know that he couldn't lawfully possess a firearm in the first place, much less walk into a California gun store and legally purchase one. In fact, he wasn't even allowed to purchase ammunition in California, and state law prohibits everyone from purchasing ammo out of state and bringing it home.
I don't know if Thakur would have even contemplated arming herself for protection against her stalker, but California law makes it incredibly difficult for people in similar circumstances to do so. Even if she just wanted to keep a gun at home, Thakur would have been subjected to the state's 10-day waiting period, and she would have been required to keep the gun in a CalDOJ-approved gun safe or lockbox unless it was on her person or under her direct control.
If she wanted to actually carry that firearm outside the home for her protection, she would have an even more difficult time. Sacramento County's concealed carry permits cost almost $600, and that's without the price of the 16-hour training course mandated by the state and the fingerprinting fees that are charged by a third party. Sacramento doesn't require a psych evaluation for concealed carry applicants, unlike many of the state's most populous counties, but it's still awfully expensive to get a permit.
And once you have a permit in hand, you still have to navigate all of California's "sensitive places" where lawful carry is banned, which include restaurants where alcohol is served, government buildings, and even public parks and playgrounds.
The Biden administration failed to detain and deport Rohit when he entered this country illegally. Gavin Newsom's sanctuary policies gave him a safe harbor. And California's gun laws did nothing to prevent him from illegally arming himself and ending the life of an innocent woman who received all of the protection that a piece of paper provides.
I'm not arguing against seeking an order of protection if you feel it's necessary, but it's not a suit of armor. It's a legal tool that you might be able to use if your stalker continues to pursue you. If they decide to actually harm you, though, you're going to need something more substantial than paper... and California makes it incredibly and needlessly difficult to obtain and carry the most common self-defense tool in the United States.
