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Vadewattee, Mother of 2, Among 9 Victims of Atlanta Gunman's Fury

A P Kamath in Atlanta

Mark Orrin Barton left behind a note on his computer that he had vowed to kill people who had ruined him, apparently referring to those who worked for the stock market.

Vadewattee Murlidhara was not the person Barton, the 44-year-old father and investor could have had in mind when he left his posh suburban house and headed to two brokerage firms in Atlanta.

For, the 43-year-old mother of two was not a stockbroker. She was at one of the two brokerages, where Barton shot dead nine people, to learn computer programs. She died within minutes of Barton opening fire at random. Afterwards, Barton shot himself to death as hundreds of police officers began scouting for him.

Authorities later said he had killed his wife and two children before committing one of the worst workplace massacres in American history.

Few details were available about Vadewattee; some of the people at the financial centre said she was a Tamil from Sri Lanka. Others said she was from India.

But one of the computer instructors said she had moved to Atlanta about 10 weeks ago from a small city, Swainsboro, when her husband, a doctor, got a better-paying job in the Georgian capital.

An instructor, who said she was too shaken to discuss details about Vadewattee, and who asked to be not named, said Vadewattee wanted to get a degree in computer science. Her two children were bound for college, and she wanted to get additional college education, too.

The Associated Press quoted Peggy Corbin, a friend, who said Vadewattee wanted "to expand her knowledge".

"The one thing I would say is she was a very sweet-spirited person," Corbin said. "Just very dedicated to her children. They were her life."

Atlanta, with its year-round warm climate, has attracted hundreds of Indians from the northern and mid-western states in recent years. Many have gone into their own businesses, while others work for hospitals and health-care businesses.

"Some of us have been planning to move to Atlanta and other southern cities because we are too scared with random and senseless killings in cities like New York and Chicago," said Hasmukh Patel, a New York businessman. "Now it looks like no place is too safe."

Next: Tech People Have to Become Sales People: Manoj Tripathi

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