The funeral prayers for Sabika Sheikh, a Pakistani exchange student in Texas who was shot dead Friday evening in the Santa Fe massacre, was held today (Sunday) after Namaz-e-Zuhr, here in a local mosque.
The funeral prayers, scheduled by the Pakistani Consulate in Houston at Sugar Land's Masjid Sabireen, was separated from the one to be held in the teen's hometown of Karachi, which her family, friends, and relatives will attend.
Pakistani Consulate officials, local members of the United States Congress, as well as other US officials attended the funeral.
Earlier, Aisha Farooqui, the consul-general in Houston, confirmed that the consulate had received the deceased's body, which was then moved to a cold storage.
Sheikh's body was transferred to the Muslim Funeral Home in Masjid Hamza after Chief Medical Examiner Hafiz's approval.
It would be sent back to her homeland, after necessary "legal procedures", hopefully by Monday, Farooqui said.
"We wish to send the body back to Pakistan as soon as possible."
17-year-old Sabika Sheikh was killed during the Santa Fe high school shooting on Friday, one of the 10 victims who were mostly students.
A resident of Karachi's Gulshan-e-Iqbal locality, Sheikh was studying in the US under the Kennedy-Lugar Youth Exchange and Study (YES) programme since August 21, 2017, and was due to return home next month.
