Just days after a 50-year-old man was assaulted and a racist message spray painted on his truck, a 71-year-old turbaned Sikh man was pushed to the ground and repeatedly kicked in the US state of California.
Sahib Singh Natt was reportedly walking along a park in Manteca on Monday morning when two men tried to rob him. The entire incident was caught on a CCTV and showed that when the 71-year-old resisted, one of the suspects pushed him to ground. Mr Natt fought back, but the suspects again knocked him to the ground and kicked him repeatedly before finally leaving him there.
Police on Wednesday arrested two teenagers, including the 18-year-old son of the police chief of Union City, Tyrone McAllister in connection with the crime, the LA Times reported.
Union City Police chief Darryl McAllister said he was meeting the Sikh community of his city on Tuesday when the crime was brought to his attention and that they asked him to weigh in on how to prevent this type of “horrific crime” in Union City.
Two cases of hate crime targeted at Sikhs reported in a week in California Source: Twitter
“I am completely disgusted in sharing with you that, later yesterday evening, I received a call from the Manteca PD that the suspect in this horrific crime turns out to by my 18-year old son,” the police officer wrote on social media.
“Words can barely describe how embarrassed, dejected, and hurt my wife, daughters, and I feel right now. Violence and hatred is not what we have taught our children; intolerance for others is not even in our vocabulary, let alone our values.”
Mr McAllister said his son has been estranged from the family for several months.
The Sikh community of Manteca rallied after the incident and demanded to put a stop to such incidents.
“A community member is assaulted and it’s not ok. We are not going to put up with this,” said local councilman, Garry Singh.
“Our city will not stand for any activity by any individual that harm members of the community. We will be proactive and use any means necessary who have caused this,” Manteca Mayor Steve DeBrum told the gathering.
Mr Natt, due to an epileptic seizure suffered seven years ago, could not explain to police exactly what was said. For that reason, police are investigating the incident as an attempted robbery and not a hate crime, the Fox5 network reported.
Police arrested the 18-year-old on Wednesday morning, connecting several dots, including the clothing he was wearing at the time of the incident.
According to investigators, he was the primary aggressor who along with the 16-year-old were arrested on suspicion of attempted robbery, elder abuse and assault with a deadly weapon. Police are also investigating whether the attack amounts to a hate crime.
Last Tuesday, 50-year-old Surjit Singh Mallhi was assaulted by two men while he was putting up political signs for US Representative Jeff Denham in Modesto area of California. The assailants also yelled racist slurs telling him: “You’re not welcome here” and “Go back to your country” and spray painted a racist message "Go back to your country” on his truck.
There are an estimated 700,000 Sikhs in the United States, out of which roughly half live in California.
Surjit Singh Malhi Source: The Modesto Bee
A photo of the truck shared on social media by a friend of the victim's daughter. Source: Facebook
According to a Sikh advocacy group, Sikh Coalition, Sikhs are much more likely to experience hate crimes than others because of their distinct appearance. The organisation says that there have been over 175 incidents of hate crimes against Sikhs since 9/11.
One of the worst attacks on the Sikhs came six years ago, on 5 August 2012, when a gunman killed six worshippers in a Sikh temple in Wisconsin.
In order to create awareness about the Sikh religion, the Sikh community in the United States recently launched a million dollar public relations campaign.
