A 50-year-old Sikh man was thrashed multiple times by two white men, who yelled “you’re not welcome here,” in the US state of California. The police are investigating the "heinous" hate crime incident, authorities said.
The man was beaten up last week near the intersection of Keyes and Foote roads in California, the police said, adding the victim was putting up campaign signs alone along a rural stretch on the outskirts of Keyes.
An ambulance was called and the victim received treatment on the spot for cuts and other wounds.
A Facebook post revealed that the assailants had attacked the man on his head with a road. The victim however, escaped major injury because of his turban, the report said.
The assault is being investigated as a hate crime, said Stanislaus County Sheriff Adam Christianson.
Sheriff Sergeant Tom Letras said the 50-year-old victim was placing signs for local candidates when two white men wearing black hooded sweatshirts ambushed him and beat him to the ground.
He was struck multiple times as the assailants screamed, "You're not welcome here!" and "Go back to your country!" They then spray painted his truck, Letras said.
"This is a heinous crime and we are aggressively investigating it," Letras added.
The department is looking for help identifying the suspects or witnesses to the crime. The incident is considered an assault with a deadly weapon and hate crime. The victim's identity is not being released at this time, said Letras.
Sikhs in the US are experiencing an average of one hate crime per week since the start of 2018, a report said.
The Sikh Coalition, a national Sikh advocacy and civil rights group had earlier issued a statement saying they were seeing a "new wave of hate crimes" against the Sikh community.
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