Two women were killed in separate shootings in Sacramento’s Arden-Arcade area. Shalini Thakur, 38, had a restraining order against the man accused of stalking her. Samantha Cromwell, 29, was shot outside a trampoline park while celebrating her son’s eighth birthday.
A Stalking Case That Ended in the Panera Parking Lot
Thakur was shot to death in September outside a Panera Bread on Howe Avenue, according to The Sacramento Bee. Investigators say the shooter was Rohit Rohit, 22, whom authorities described as her alleged stalker. Thakur had filed for a civil harassment restraining order against Rohit in May, and she obtained it later that month, with protections effective through May 2027, according to CBS News Sacramento.
Court documents reviewed by KCRA show Thakur had warned that the stalking was getting worse over time, describing it as having “progressively escalated in frequency and severity” after it began around September 2025. The Sacramento Bee, however, reported that Rohit had harassed and stalked Thakur since at least January 2026 — the two accounts give differing timelines for when the alleged stalking started. On July 29, Thakur told deputies that Rohit had violated her restraining order by leaving grocery items at her front door, the Bee reported, and detectives made at least two attempts to contact him afterward but could not locate him.
Shot While Trying to Run
On the day of the shooting, the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office said Rohit had been waiting in the Panera parking lot when he approached and confronted Thakur. She tried to run, but he shot her multiple times, according to the sheriff’s account relayed by KCRA. Rohit later stopped his vehicle on Highway 50 and refused to get out of the car before dying from what appeared to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound, KCRA reported.
Tony Mauceri, a friend of Thakur’s who had gone to court with her over the restraining order, said she had done everything the system asks of a victim. “Thakur did everything right but still became a victim,” Mauceri said, according to ABC10. He also pushed back on any notion that restraining orders are handed out lightly, saying they require an imminent threat of violence and are not issued casually.
A Birthday Party Interrupted by Gunfire
In a separate shooting, Samantha Cromwell, 29, was shot and killed outside Urban Air Adventure Park in Arden-Arcade, where she had gone to celebrate her son’s eighth birthday, according to KCRA. Sacramento police responding to the 1700 block of Arden Way found two shooting victims; Cromwell was pronounced dead at the scene, KCRA reported.
A second woman injured in the shooting remained hospitalized in critical condition, according to the same KCRA report. Edward Lee Tucker Jr., 36, was arrested and booked into the Sacramento County Main Jail on homicide charges.
California Restraining-Order Enforcement
A domestic-violence-awareness walk was held in Sacramento.
Sheriff Jim Cooper has advocated tighter laws. Under current California law, violating a restraining order generally carries a misdemeanor charge, as noted by CBS News Sacramento in its reporting on the Thakur case. The reported violation involved grocery items left at Thakur’s front door.
Tonya Mack, whose sister suffered a traumatic brain injury at her husband’s hands, said she and her family remain traumatized and believe her sister never received justice. Leia Schenk, founder and CEO of the nonprofit EMPACT, said the community needs to rise up and speak openly about domestic violence rather than stay silent about it.
California lawmakers have previously taken up legislation touching on restraining-order enforcement. Bill text for AB 2040, on file with the California Legislative Information system, was introduced as an act amending Penal Code Section 273.6 concerning restraining-order violations, while a separate measure, AB 1753, addresses protective orders tied to firearms and ammunition and references the same penal code section covering intentional disobedience of certain restraining orders. Neither bill’s final legislative status or effect on cases like Thakur’s and Cromwell’s has been established in available records. The Sacramento Superior Court notes that there are several types of civil restraining orders, each with its own eligibility requirements and process for victims seeking protection.
