A man in a black shirt and jeans was caught on camera stealing thousands of dollars from Sikh Dharamsal, a northwest-side temple in San Antonio.
The temple leader of Sikh Dharamsal reported to the San Antonio Police Department that the burglar stole at least $5,000 in donations, according to KENS5.
Camera footage shows the thief attempting to open the donation box using a tool, before deciding to walk away with the entire box.
Gurpaul Singh, the director of community outreach, described the situation as “very disturbing,” and “so sad”.
Although the temple expresses no ill feelings toward the thief, Singh has said that, “to take from a church or a place of worship I think could be perhaps the worst type of offending”.
Director Singh explained that the temple relies on donations “to provide our free kitchen and to run programs like Haven for Hope and the food bank”.
KSAT 12 reports that any extra money has been used to serve the Sikh community as well as other San Antonio organizations.
Sikh Dharamsal is now enforcing stricter security measures and warning nearby places of worship with hopes to prevent a repeat of the robbery.
“We have a very strong and resilient community,” Singh said. “We will bounce back from this. We already have.”
AsAmNews is published by the non-profit, Asian American Media Inc. Please consider making a donation and following us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and TikTok. Information about interning, joining the staff or volunteering is here. We are supported in part by funding provided by the State of California, administered by the California State Library in partnership with the California Department of Social Services and the California Commission on Asian and Pacific Islander American Affairs as part of the Stop the Hate program. To report a hate incident or hate crime and get support, go to CA vs Hate.”
