Sharon Gray. (UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, DAVIS )
ESAT News (October 6, 2016)
The American killed in Ethiopia on Tuesday has been identified as Sharon Gray, a 30-year-old fellow at University of California-Davis postdoctoral researcher, UC Davis said.
Sharon Gray, who was a plant biologist on fieldwork in Ethiopia, was killed in Holeta, 26 miles west of the capital Addis Ababa when she was struck on the head. She was travelling in a van when it came under attack.
Gray was the first foreigner killed in Ethiopia since anti-government protests began in November 2015 in which security forces killed over one thousand protesters mainly in the restive Oromo region, the largest ethnic groups fighting a tyrannical minority regime.
Gray was traveling in Holeta with eight other foreigners when their van came under attack. Another fellow was also sustained injuries and is reportedly headed home.
“Even in tragedy, we hope that we all can find some comfort in the wonderful work Sharon was engaged in that will better the lives of so many around the world,” Ken Burtis, Interim Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor of UC Davis said on his Facebook page.