'We can use more people like him' | Close friends remember the life and legacy of CapMetro stabbing victim

A giver is how Pedro Villarreal remembers his friend, Akshay Gupta. They were part of the same running club that would meet every Saturday.

"He would give his time, would give his friend, would give his attention," Villarreal said.

Gupta was running towards a vision. Villarreal said Gupta held a prestigious nonimmigrant visa for people at the top of their field. An engineering graduate of Penn State, Gupta came to Austin with hopes of starting his own company – an idea called "FootBit."

"I think one of his goals was to use it for elderly people when it came to, like, walking," Villarreal said.

Anette Armenta met Gupta at the same running club and remembers the sacrifices Gupta made for his vision.

"I know that he declined a $300,000-a-year job offer by Amazon because he actually wanted to pursue his dreams," Armenta said.

Those dreams now put to halt after Gupta got stabbed on a CapMetro bus in South Austin last Wednesday night. During the investigation, detectives learned the suspect – 31-year-old Deepak Kandel – stabbed Gupta in the neck without being provoked. Police said Kandel admitted to stabbing Gupta because he resembled his uncle.

"I was just speechless. I just couldn't believe it," Armenta said.

"It can happen to anybody, and so to think that you can one day just go onto a public bus and get stabbed, it's pretty crazy," Villarreal said.

As Armenta and Villarreal come to terms with their loss, they now look at Gupta's contributions as a compass for a life well-lived.

"I think that a lot of people leave this world without impacting people and that's OK. But in this case, I think that Akshay impacted my life in a really, really good way," Armenta said.

"Akshay brought the example of giving without asking anything in return for that and so we can use more people like him," Villarreal said.

KVUE also reached out to the Penn State Engineering Department for a comment, with one associate professor saying many remember him fondly.

Kandel faces a first-degree murder charge and is being held at the Travis County Jail on a $500,000 bond.