Indian among four killed in US’ Cincinnati: Sushma Swaraj dismisses possibility of 'hate crime'
Four members of a Sikh family, including three women, have been shot in their home in Ohio's Cincinnati city on Sunday evening, authorities said.
An Indian national and three persons of Indian-origin have been killed in Cincinnati in the US and the matter is being investigated by police there, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said on Tuesday.
However, Swaraj ruled out the possibility of a hate crime.
"Indian Ambassador in United States @IndianEmbassyUS has informed me about the killing of four persons in Cincinnati on Sunday evening. One of them was an Indian national on a visit to US while others were persons of Indian origin," she tweeted.
The matter is under investigation by police, but it is not a hate crime, Swaraj said.
"Our Consul General in New York is coordinating with the concerned authorities and will keep me informed me on this," she said.
The victims were found by another relative who called the police, West Chester Police Chief Joel Herzog said.
"My wife and three other family members were on the ground and bleeding... they’re bleeding from the head," a man said on the 911 call that was released by the police.
"No one's talking, no one's talking," he shouted.
A local religious leader on Monday identified the deceased as Hakikat Singh Panag, 59, his wife, Paramjit Kaur, 62, their daughter, Shalinder Kaur, 39, and his sister-in-law, Amarjit Kaur, 58.
The were all shot to death around 9:50 p.m (local time) on Sunday, the report said.