Sikh man shot in his driveway buoyed by support

SEATTLE — A Sikh man who says a man shot him in the arm and told him to go back to his country is recovering from his wound at home in suburban Seattle and is encouraged by an outpouring of support, community leaders said Monday.

Hira Singh said he has talked to the 39-year-old Indian man and his family by telephone and they are “getting back to normal.”

The victim is shaken up and concerned about the safety of his family, but “he felt really, really blessed that he has survived with very little suffering and that he’s received an enormous amount of support,” said Jasmit Singh, another community leader.

Police in the city of Kent are investigating the Friday night shooting as a hate crime and the FBI has joined the investigation. No arrests have been made so far, police Cmdr. Jarod Kasner said.

The shooting has rattled members of the Sikh community, which numbers about 50,000 in Washington.

At the Sikh temple in nearby Renton, where the victim has worshipped for about a decade, leaders told their faithful to “keep calm and pray,” said Harminder Singh, president of Gurudwara Singh Sabha of Washington.

He said the victim, who is married and has three children, works in the construction industry and is “a nice guy.” While the shooting shocked everyone, the positive responses from the FBI, police and others have been reassuring, he said.

“That sent a positive message to the whole congregation,” Harminder Singh said.

Kent police have not identified the victim or released other information about him. But India’s foreign minister, Sushma Swaraj, named him on Twitter, saying, “I am sorry to know about the attack on Deep Rai, a U.S. national of Indian origin.”

Rai told police a man he didn’t know came up to him Friday night as he worked on his car in his driveway. They argued, with the suspect telling Rai to go back to his homeland, then shooting him in the arm, authorities said.

He described the shooter as 6 feet tall and white with a stocky build, police said. He said the man was wearing a mask covering the lower half of his face.

“All of the information that I have available at this time suggests that the information provided by the victim is credible,” Kent Police Chief Ken Thomas wrote in an email Sunday.

The FBI’s Seattle office said it is “committed to investigating crimes that are potentially hate-motivated.”