By Lyda Longa | March 5, 2013 | Daytona Beach News Journal | [Original Article]
PORT ORANGE — A Sikh man shot as he drove over a bridge with his son and who investigators say was probably targeted in a hate crime because he wears a turban, was released from the hospital this week and is recovering at home.
Kanwaljit Singh was resting at his Port Orange residence Tuesday afternoon, said his wife, Paramjit Kaur.
He was discharged from Halifax Health Medical Center after being in critical condition since he was shot on Feb. 23 just before midnight.
Singh's car was shot at six times as the 46-year-old father of two headed west over the Dunlawton Bridge. He was with his 13-year-old son at the time and the pair had just closed a new convenience store that Singh had opened on the beachside, friends said.
Singh was struck twice, bullets entering his torso and one of his thighs.
Port Orange detectives have released little information, saying they do not want to jeopardize their case. The incident report also has been kept under wraps because it contains several details on the case, said Capt. David Meyer.
Investigators have said the attack was probably not random because Singh — a follower of the Sikh religion — was wearing the head turban traditional for men of that faith, said Navtej Khalsa, regional director of the Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund in Oviedo. The turban represents a commitment to equality and justice.
Khalsa said that since Sept. 11, many Sikhs have been the focus of hate crimes because uninformed individuals think they are Muslims or Arabs.
Investigators have said the shooter was in a black or dark-colored late 1980s or early 1990s Ford F-150. The pickup has a Ford decal on both sides, police said. [Read more...]
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