SANTA FE, Texas—Sabika Sheikh came to the United States to learn about American culture as part of a State Department-funded scholarship program.On Friday, Sheikh fell victim to a gruesome American tradition, massacred with nine others at school by a gun-wielding classmate.
This time it was at Santa Fe High School near Houston, Texas. Among the victims were two popular substitute teachers, Ann Perkins and Cynthia Tisdale, as well as 16-year-old Shana Fisher, whose mother said the alleged shooter “kept making advances” at her daughter, Los Angeles Times reported.

Authorities said the suspect, Dimitrios Pagourtzis, confessed to the killings, telling police that he spared people he liked. It’s unclear what Pagourtzsis could have possibly had against Sheikh, whom grieving friends described to The Daily Beast as a smart, sweet and perpetually happy young woman.



Sheikh, 17, was from Karachi, the largest city in Pakistan, and had been living with an American host family about two miles from the school where she was killed. The family’s daughter, who did not identify herself, said it was too soon for her father to talk. He was grieving, she said.Sheikh’s host family runs a popular fish market in nearby Texas City, where she worked. On Saturday, it was full of customers. The distinct smell of Gulf Coast seafood permeated remembrances of Sheikh.
“When I found out, I cried my eyes out,” said Ashley Yelverton, who was working the cash register. “She meant everything to me. She was like my cousin.”

Yelverton described Sheikh “full of laughter” and “so happy.” Co-worker Mynon Parnell added some adjectives of her own: creative, sweet, giggly.

“She was here one day and not the next,” Parnell said, looking dejected. “We loved her here.”Sheikh was part of the Kennedy-Lugar Youth Exchange and Study (YES) program, set up in 2002 to provide scholarships to children from countries with large Muslim populations. The goal is for students to “learn about American society and values,” according to the YES website.
In Pakistan, Sheikh’s father described her as “extraordinary” and “talented,” Al-Jazeera reported.

“Even now I cannot believe that my daughter is gone,” Abdul Aziz said.

source: http://www.vondanews.com/girl-who-came-to-america-to-study-meets-her-death/