Story highlights
A Sikh man was shot Friday outside a home in suburban Seattle
Gunman allegedly told the victim to "go back to your country"
The shooting victim seemed like most of his other neighbors, except that he wore a turban and beard.
And it was those hallmarks of his Sikh faith that apparently led another man to confront him in his driveway, tell him to “go back to your country” and shoot him in the arm.
Police are searching for the gunman and investigating the shooting in Kent, Washington, as a possible hate crime, CNN affiliate KIRO reported.
The victim is a US citizen, originally from India’s Punjab province, Seattle-area Sikh community leader Jasmit Singh told CNN.
Singh said the man’s family told him that he was in his driveway Friday when the other man approached, asking something along the lines of “why are you cleaning your car?”
The conversation became heated and the man threatened the victim, called him names, pushed him to the ground and pulled out a gun.
The victim lost consciousness, only realizing he had been shot when he regained consciousness, Singh said. He was discharged from the hospital Saturday and doctors expected him to make a complete recovery, Singh said.
Sikhs have been victims of anti-Muslim hate crimes
Police respond
“We’re early on in our investigation and the shot resulted in non life-threatening injuries, however we are treating this as a very serious incident,” Kent police chief Ken Thomas said in a news conference broadcast by KIRO.
Thomas said police were investigating the shooting as a possible hate crime, KIRO reported.
“To think that this could happen in our community was very surprising and extremely disappointing,” Thomas said. “This is the first incident of this magnitude that I’m aware of in the city of Kent.
The FBI’s Seattle office said it was investigating alongside Kent police.
“The FBI remains committed to investigating crimes that are potentially hate-motivated and we continue to work with all our community partners in the Seattle area,” a spokesperson said in a statement.
India reacts
India’s Minister of External Affairs, Sushma Swaraj, tweeted that she was sorry to hear of the attack.
Swaraj said she had spoken to the victim’s father, who told her his son had suffered a bullet injury to the arm and was “out of danger” and recovering in a private hospital.
India’s Foreign Ministry said it was in touch with local authorities and had offered assistance.
“What we heard from the victim himself is that the shooter asked him when are you going back to your own country?” spokesman Gopal Baglay said.
MaryKay Loss Carlson, the top diplomat at the US Embassy in New Delhi, tweeted her thoughts as well.
“Saddened by shooting in WA. Wishes for a quick and full recovery. As @POTUS said we condemn “hate and evil in all its forms,” she said.
Witness to attack
A tenant at the property where the shooting took place told KIRO she witnessed her landlord being shot before the gunman ran away.
“The guy told him to go back home,” Susan Livie told the station.
The Sikh Coalition said members of its community are at heightened risk of hate-crime attacks – partially because their faith requires the wearing of turbans and beards.
In a statement, spokesman Rajdeep Singh said it’s important the Kent shooting be investigated as a hate crime.
“While we appreciate the efforts of state and local officials to respond to attacks like this, we need our national leaders to make hate crime prevention a top priority,” he said. “Tone matters in our political discourse, because this a matter of life or death for millions of Americans who are worried about losing loved ones to hate.”
The coalition said the Kent attack had similarities with the shooting of two Indian immigrants in Kansas in February. Violence against minorities has increased since the presidential election and hate crimes need to be identified as such, it said.
Stigma of racism ‘erased’
“Investigating this as an anti-Sikh hate crime is critical, because without our government agencies recognizing hatred for what it is, we can’t combat the problem,” Jasmit Singh said.
“The Sikh community is shaken and very frustrated at the hate and rhetoric that is being spread today about anyone that looks different, who looks like an immigrant.”
Jasmit Singh said approximately 50,000 Sikhs lived in Washington – some 30,000 of them in the Kent-Renton area.
“Based on anecdotal evidence, more and more people are saying inappropriate things to Sikh men, the stigma attached to being a racist has been erased from the community,” he said.
Rep. Ami Bera, the longest currently serving Indian-American member of Congress, on Sunday denounced the attack.
“This disturbing crime is an outrage that goes against everything we stand for as a nation of immigrants,” Bera said in a statement. “Xenophobia and racism have no place in America, and we as a nation need to stand up to these hate crimes – starting with the President.”
Jasmit Singh also said the White House needs to speak out against racism and bigotry.
“In the past – in Bush, Obama time – there was swift action and communication saying that this is unacceptable,” he said. “We aren’t seeing any response from this administration.”
But the Kent Police Department and City Council have provided a lot of feedback and met with the community, he said.
