Kenyan student found dead in US with gunshot wound in the head

A 19-year-old Kenyan student was found dead by police in a bush in Covington, Georgia, in the US on Sunday afternoon.

Authorities said Felix Irungu, a second-year student at Mercer University in Georgia, died of a gunshot wound in the head.

The county coroner said a bullet had gone through his head, shattering the skull.

Irungu’s body was discovered by a team of police officers from the Newton County Sherriff’s department who had been dispatched to comb the bushy area.

The teenager's parents told the Nation that Irungu left home on Friday evening without telling his younger brother where he was going.

“When his mother and I noticed he had not returned by Saturday, we reported the matter to the local sheriff’s office,” said his father, John Mburu Tiria.

“Felix was on fall break and it is unusual of him to spend the night away without telling us. That is how I suspected something was not right,” he said.

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Attempts by the Nation to speak to the Newton County sheriff on Sunday evening were unsuccessful.

However, an officer who did not wish to be identified as he is not authorised to speak to the media said investigations were going on to determine the circumstances that led to the shooting.

“At this point, we can’t speculate over how this happened. All I can tell you is that we found a gun next to the body,” he said.

The Nation has learnt that police took away a laptop and a cell phone belonging to the deceased for forensic processing.

The distraught mother of the late Irungu expressed gratitude for the support the family had received from the Kenyan community in Georgia by Sunday evening.

“We are touched by the love shown by friends and well-wishers who have come to be with us at this very difficult time,” said Hannah Tiria.

A memorial service was slated for Sunday afternoon at the Kenyan American Community Church in Marietta, Georgia.