Over 200 people showed up at a gas station to mourn the death of a beloved attendant killed by a gunman in Lynnwood, Washington, reports the Herald.
TejPal Singh, 60, had worked at the Chevron station 7 days a week for 21 years.
Many of the mourners who remembered Singh cried.
“It doesn’t feel right being in the store without Paul,” the name many of his customers knew him by, said Rachael Buis who considered herself a good friend. “He had this bright smile, you couldn’t help but gravitate towards him. He looked like somebody you’d known forever, even if you hadn’t. He just had a warm energy.”
According to Fox13, authorities say the killer walked into the store and shot Singh in the early morning, in an apparent robbery attempt.
The masked suspect was caught on a surveillance camera, but remains on the loose.
“My heart goes out to Singh and his family and those who knew him. It’s always a tragic story when someone gets shot down like that,” Mayor John Kartak to the Lynnwood Times. “And something like this always hits close to home here in this small community.”
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I didn’t know TejPal but I cried when I read this. I imagine the killer thought he was Muslim and you all know how many Americans feel about Muslims. But he was a Sikh American…the best of the best. Apparently, wearing any sign of your religion be it a Jewish yarmulke, a Muslim kufis or a turban, you are taking a risk in this atmosphere of Trumpian hatred against those who are different. I pray for his family and offer my sincerest condolences ….and shame that so many Americans are so ignorant and biased.