A gas station owner was shot to death in Newark Monday afternoon, and the man's family said they think he was targeted because he is Sikh.
Davinder Singh, 47, was shot at the Power Gas Station on West Market Street sometime before 4:25 p.m. Monday.
Police said Singh, of Iselin, was found unresponsive at the gas station and taken to a University Hospital, where he was pronounced dead shortly before 4:45 p.m.
Singh's son, Jatinder Singh, said that he thought his father, who had moved to the United States from India 25 years ago may have been targeted because he was Sikh and wore a turban.
"There was no robbery, no struggle, no confrontation," he said. "I don't know what else it could be other than a hate crime."
Jatinder Singh told NBC 4 New York that his father was "the best man I ever knew" and that the family had worried about him working in Newark.
The son said the 47-year-old had been robbed before but had always fought back. But on Monday afternoon, he didn't even have a chance.
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"My dad came out to get some fresh air and the male came up to my dad, pointed a gun and shot him point-blank," he said.
Detectives from the Essex County Prosecutor’s Major Crimes Task Force are investigating the shooting. They didn't comment as to whether the case is being investigated as a hate crime.
