NEW YORK: In what appears to be a hate crime, two elderly Sikh Americans in Elk Grove, Sacramento in California were shot at March 4, resulting in the death of one on the spot, and leaving the other in a critical condition, police said.
Surinder Singh, 65, and Gurmej Atwal, 78 were out for an afternoon stroll when they were shot at. Police, who found the two elderly men lying on a sidewalk, said that at present there is no evidence that would indicate a hate or bias motivation for the crime but neither is there any evidence to eliminate that possibility. They are yet to find any witnesses to the crime.
Due to the unusual nature of this case, Elk Grove Police Chief Robert M. Lehner, in a statement said: The Elk Grove Police Department needs your assistance in our investigation of the shooting that occurred on Friday in our city. Two men of Indian descent, were shot while enjoying what, for them, was a traditional afternoon walk. At present, we have no evidence to indicate there was a hate or bias motivation for this crime; however, the obvious Sikh appearance of the men, including the traditional Dastar headwear and lack of any other apparent motive, increasingly raise that possibility.”
Lehner further said as soon as it could be arranged, the police would be meeting with representatives of the Sikh community to discuss this case and any particular needs and concerns they might have as a result of this terrible incident.
“The City of Elk Grove is a marvelously diverse community and the possibility that one of our valued community groups might have been targeted because of their national origin or religion is of grave concern. We will diligently investigate that possibility and, should it be determined that there was a hate motivation, will spare no effort to identify the perpetrator and see that he, she, or they are brought to justice. On a related note, we have made preliminary notification to the local FBI office because bias-motivated crimes are a violation of Federal as well as State Law,” Lehner said.
“Because of the lack of information available from the scene, we really need the public’s assistance in this case,” he further said. “Anyone who may have been a witness either to the incident itself or some other, possibly related incident or behavior, is urged to call us. Even if it turns out to be unrelated, we would much rather have had the opportunity to look into something than to miss a possible connection. If you have any possibly related information at all, please call us.”
“In the meantime, our thoughts and condolences are with the families, friends, and associates of the victims of this senseless crime and we wish Mr. Atwal a speedy and complete recovery,” the police chief said.
Investigators are looking for a tan or light-brown Ford 150 pick-up truck, model year 1999-2003, witnessed leaving the area right after the crime.
Singh was a truck driver who had worked in both India and Libya before moving to the United States about five years ago, his son Harvinder Singh, told the Sacramento Bee. He had recently survived his fourth heart attack.
Atwal moved to the US from India in 2001, and the family settled two years later in Elk Grove, according to his son, Kamaljit Atwal.
Rewards for information
The reward for information leading to the arrest of the person or persons responsible for the shooting has grown to more than $42,000
The Sikh community of Stockton, Yuba City, and Sacramento and SALDEF are offering a $10,000 reward for information on the crime. Additionally the Elk Grove Police Department has issued a $1000 reward.
The Sacramento Valley chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-SV) has also offered a $5,000 reward for information related to the attacks.
The executive director of CAIR’s Sacramento Valley chapter noted that Sikh men in beards and turbans are often targeted by those who mistake them for Muslims. “The Muslim community offers its condolences and support to the Sikh community in this time of sorrow,” Basim Elkarra said.
Sikh Community reacts
Kashmir Singh, a Director of the Sikh advocacy group United Sikhs said, “The Sikh community in California is visibly shaken by this incident, which follows closely on a similar incident on a Sikh taxi driver a few months ago. Sikhs are targeted because of their external religious identity, which is ignorantly equated or linked to terrorism. Needless violence occurs because of a gap in knowledge about who Sikhs really are.”
Hansdeep Singh, Senior Staff Attorney of the organization said, “Currently, we live in a climate where government officials, like Congressman Peter King, seek to alienate religious minorities by calling for hearings that only discuss extremism within the Muslim community. Our history is rife with examples of targeting minority communities (i.e. Japanese), instead, we should examine the impact of how vilifying a particular group permeates the societal consciousness and inevitably leads to hate or bias based attacks.”
Rupinder Mohan Singh writing in Americanturban.com says, “Personally, this is especially chilling news. A month ago, as my own elderly father was on his daily walk, an object was thrown from a passing car that just brushed my father’s arm. Laughing teenagers in the vehicle indicated that this was not a random act, and we can only assume that he was targeted on the basis of his appearance – he wears a turban and full beard, not unlike that of the victims of Friday’s tragic attack. The magnitude of this tragedy has hit very close to home. It is hard to not live in fear given what happened to Friday’s victims.
It is crushing to think about what the families of these elderly men must be going through.”
Valarie Kaur, film-maker and producer of the post-9/11 documentary Divided We Fall, puts Friday’s tragic shootings into the context of the hateful rhetoric that is becoming more commonplace and institutionalized in this society:
This news comes in a time when anti-Muslim rhetoric is once again reaching a fevered pitch. A few weeks ago, protesters screamed “terrorists” at Muslim children walking to a charity fundraiser. Last week, Tennessee legislators proposed a bill that would essentially criminalize Islam in the state. Last year, following the Park51 firestorm, mosques in Tennessee, Oregon, and Georgia reported arson. And next week, Peter King holds a Congressional hearing investigating the loyalty and “radicalization” of American Muslims.
Our culture treats Muslims and anyone who ‘looks’ Muslim, including Sikh Americans, as perpetually foreign, automatically suspect and potentially terrorist.
India Post News Service
