Sikh man shot dead in US

New York, Jun 2: A 47-year-old Sikh gas station owner was shot dead in the US city of Newark and the victim's family is suspecting a hate crime.

Davinder Singh was shot at the gas station yesterday, a report in NBC New York said. Singh, of Iselin, was found unresponsive at the gas station and taken to a local hospital where he was pronounced dead, police said.

Singh's son, Jatinder Singh, said that he thought his father, who had moved to the US from India 25 years ago may have been targeted because he was Sikh and wore a turban. There was no struggle, no confrontation, Jatinder said.

"I don't know what else it could be other than a hate crime," he said. Jatinder said that his father was "the best man I ever knew" and that the family had worried about him working in Newark.

He said the his father had been robbed before but had always fought back. But on Monday afternoon, he didn't even have a chance.

"My dad came out to get some fresh air and the male came up to my dad, pointed a gun and shot him point-blank," he said in the report.

Detectives from the Essex County Prosecutor's Major Crimes Task Force are investigating the shooting. They didn't comment as to whether the case is being investigated as a hate crime, according to the report.

PTI