64-year-old Sikh man stabbed to death

SCREEN CAPTURE

People at a vigil for Parmjit Singh lit candles.

ASAM NEWS

Parmjit Singh, 64, was brutally stabbed to death while walking in his neighborhood in Tracy, California on Sunday (Aug. 25), CBS Sacramento reports. Now members of the Sikh American community in Tracy are searching for answers.
Singh immigrated to the United States in 2016 to study the irrigation systems of the US. He leaves behind two children and three grandchildren.

PARMJIT SINGH

According to CBS Sacramento, the attack happened Sunday around 9 p.m. in the area of Gretchen Talley Park.

Singh’s death has raised concerns for members of the community.

“How many people just go to the park for a walk? This could have been my relative, my uncle, my family member,” Jass Sangha, who helped organize a community meeting told CBS Sacramento. “Nobody deserves to die a death like that, no one deserves to see a family member stabbed.”

On Monday, police released footage of a man seen near the park during the time of Singh’s death, Huffington Post reports. Investigators are trying to find information about what this man may have seen. Members of the community are also offering a $1000 to identify the man caught on camera, CBS Sacramento reports.

Police presently have no suspects and said they are not sure if Singh's death was a hate crime.

"We don’t want to single out the fact that Mr. Singh was a member of a specific community," said Tracy Police Chief, Alex Neicu. "Mr. Singh was a member of Tracy’s community, and we’re all looking for answers. This is something that affects all of us equally."

Security cameras in the park were not operating. Police said the cameras haven't been working for several years despite signs advising park users that they are being monitored.

According to Huffington Post, an advocacy group called The Sikh Coalition says Singh’s death marks the seventh attack on an elderly Sikh man wearing a turban since 2011 in the Northern California area.

“We are deeply saddened by the death of this elderly Sikh community member,” the group’s legal director Amrith Kaur said in a statement. “As we look to learn more, we expect that local law enforcement will continue to investigate this case thoroughly, including the possibility that bias was a motivating factor in his murder.”

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