A 39-year-old Sikh man was injured in the city of Kent, US, after an unidentified man shot him outside his home and allegedly shouted “go back to your own country”.
The Sikh man has been identified by Indian Foreign Ministry sources as Deep Rai, who is a US national.
“The Sikh gentleman is able to talk. We wish him a speedy recovery and are ready to offer all possible assistance,” an official of India’s External Affairs Ministry told NDTV.
The incident is the latest in a series of apparent hate crimes targeting members of the Indian community. Rai, who sustained an injury in his arm and has been released from the hospital, has described the shooter as a six-foot-tall white man, the mask was covering the lower half of his face.
He said he was working on his vehicle outside his home on Friday, when the stranger walked up to his driveway. An argument broke out, during which the man made statements to the effect of “go back to your own country” and then shot Rai in the arm, the Seattle Times quoted the police as saying.
Last month, a 32-year old Indian engineer, Srinivas Kuchibhotla, was shot dead in a bar in Kansas. The alleged assailant—a 51-year old US Navy veteran Adam Purinton—had opened fire at him and his friend Alok Madasani, yelling “get out of my country”.
On Thursday, 43-year-old Harnish Patel—a store owner of Indian origin—was shot dead in his yard in Lancaster, South Carolina.
The growing number of incidents targeting Sikhs is reminiscent of the aftermath of the September 11 terror attacks.
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