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US shootings: Sushma Swaraj speaks to families of Harnish Patel, Deep Rai

Patel and Rai are victims of a series of troubling cases where members of the Indian community have been targeted in apparent hate crimes in US.

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Minister of External Affairs of India, Sushma Swaraj on Sunday condoled the death of Harnish Patel and the attack on Deep Rai in US. She said she has spoken to families of both the victims.

Harnish Patel, a 43-year-old Indian-origin store owner in the US was shot dead outside his home and Deep Rai, a 39-year-old Sikh man in the US had been injured when an unidentified person shot him outside his home and allegedly shouted "go back to your own country."

She tweeted she was "pained to hear about the killing" of Patel and the Consul had reached Lancaster and met the family of Harnish Patel, adding that the investigation is in process. 

Swaraj said she spoke to Rai's father, Sardar Harpal Singh who informed her that Rai was out of danger and recovering in the hospital.

Harnish Patel was shot dead outside his home, just days after an Indian engineer was killed in Kansas in a hate crime shooting that had sent shock waves across the country.

Patel, the owner of a convenience store in Lancaster County, South Carolina, was found dead of gunshot wounds in the front yard of his home on Thursday, coroner and police officials said.

Patel closed his store and drove in his silver minivan to his nearby home where authorities believe he was confronted by his killer. The store is about 6 km from his house, The Herald reported.

He had locked up his nearby store less than 10 minutes before he was found dead, police said.

Patel was found in the yard a few minutes before midnight, according to a statement from the Lancaster County Coroner's Office.

Lancaster County police received calls at 11:33 pm after people called 911 to say that they heard screaming and gunshots.

Sheriff Barry Faile said the Indian ethnicity of Patel does not appear to be a factor in the crime. "I don't have any reason to believe that this was racially motivated," Faile said

Friends and customers were in shock and were visiting Patel's home to offer condolences to his family.

"Who would do anything like this to him, as good as he is to everybody," Nicole Jones, a frequent customer at Patel's store, told WBTV.

Jones and other friends said Patel was not always worried about the bottom line of his business.

"If you didn't have the money, he'd let people have food," Jones said.

Mario Sadler, another customer and friend, said Patel had offered him jobs before, and did anything he could to help out in tough times. "He's watched my kids grow up, which is why it's painful. From day one he's been amazing, just awesome, and I just don't understand the sense behind it," Sadler said.

Dilipkumar Gajjar, a close friend of Patel and the owner the ABC store next to the Speedee Mart, said Patel came over to this country to better his family's life, and did that.

Patel's death comes close on the heels of the shooting in Kansas of a 32-year-old Indian engineer Srinivas Kuchibhotla, who was killed when 51-year-old US Navy veteran Adam Purinton opened fire at him and his friend Alok Madasani at a bar before yelling "get out of my country."

The shooting last month had sent shockwaves across the Indian-American community with people expressing concerns over their safety in an environment of xenophobic and racist rhetoric in the country.

Rai was working on his vehicle outside his home in the city of Kent in the Washington state on Friday when he was approached by a stranger, who walked up to the driveway, the Seattle Times reported.

Kent police said an argument broke out between the two men, with the victim saying the suspect made statements to the effect of "go back to your own country." The unidentified man then shot him in the arm.

Kent Police Chief Ken Thomas said while the Sikh man sustained "non life-threatening injuries", they are "treating this as a very serious incident."

Kent police have launched an investigation into the case and reached out to the FBI and other law enforcement agencies, the report said.

"We're early on in our investigation," Thomas said.

Kent Police Commander Jarod Kasner said the incident is getting attention from the Sikh community and others.

"With recent unrest and concern throughout the nation this can get people emotionally involved, especially when (the crime) is directed at a person for how they live, how they look," Kasner said.

The incident is the latest in a series of troubling cases where members of the Indian community have been targeted in apparent hate crimes.

It comes close on the heels of the tragic shooting in Kansas last month of 32-year old Indian engineer Srinivas Kuchibhotla, who was killed when 51-year old US Navy veteran Adam Purinton opened fire at him and his friend Alok Madasani before yelling "get out of my country."

Earlier this week, Indian-origin convenience store owner Harnish Patel, 43, of Lancaster in South Carolina was found dead of gun shot wounds in his yard.

Jasmit Singh, a leader of the Sikh community in Renton, said he had been told the victim was released from the hospital.

He said the victim and his family are "very shaken up." "We're all kind of at a loss in terms of what's going on right now, this is just bringing it home. The climate of hate that has been created doesn't distinguish between anyone," he said.

Singh said that men from his community have reported a rise in incidents of verbal abuse, "a kind of prejudice, a kind of xenophobia that is nothing that we've seen in the recent past."

He said the number of incidents targeting members of the Sikh religion, are reminiscent of the aftermath of the September 11 terror attacks.

US President Donald Trump had condemned the Kansas shooting. He had said America stands united in condemning hate and evil in all its forms. 

(With inputs from PTI)

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