Dalbir Singh, Sikh, killed in a Store at Wisconsin
Milwaukee, Wisconsin (August 17, 2012): The Sikhs have not yet recovered from the tragic shooting on August 5th, 2012 at Oak Creek Gurdwara sahib, when the news of another shooting shattered the community.
According to information available with Sikh Siyasat Dalbir Singh, 56, was shot and killed on Wednesday night while closing his store at north-side neighborhood market in Oak Creek, Wisconsin.
Initial reports indicate that Dalbir Singh was shot and killed in an attempted robbery at his store.
The Milwaukee police department is saying that the investigation is currently ongoing but there is no evidence that it is a hate crime case.
“Dalbir Singh was a practising Sikh who used to visit the Gurdwara at Oak Creek almost every day where on August 5th, a white supremacist, Wade Michael Page, opened fire and killed six Sikhs and one critically wounded.
On that fatal day Dalbir didn’t visit the Gurdwara but fate had something else in works that has shocked the community once again”, said Harcharn Singh Gill.
“Does our Identity make us easy targets for robberies and assaults, is a question that United Sikhs is asking the law authorities” reads a statement issued by United Sikhs, a NGO.
“On 30th March, in Las Vegas, Amandeep Kaur’s husband, a 31-year-old businessman Amanpreet Singh, the father of their two-year-old and four-year-old sons, was robbed, shot and killed while making a deposit at the Wells Fargo bank branch near Eastern and Sunset. No one has been arrested till today. There are scores of such incidents that have taken place”, reads the United Sikhs’ statement.
“Earlier this evening, SALDEF spoke with the Milwaukee Police Department (MPD) and learned that they have ‘people of interest’ in custody at this time. A Lieutenant from MPD also stated that while this is an ongoing investigation, there is currently no evidence to indicate that this crime was motivated by anything other than a desire to obtain money from the victims. The US Attorney for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, James Santelle, however, has assured the community that his office and law enforcement will look at this case critically and ensure that the motive of this crime is thoroughly investigated” reads a statement issued by Sikh American Legal Defence and Education Fund (SALDEF).