Elderly Fresno Sikh Man Hit By Car, Beaten By Men Yelling 'Why Are You Here?'
FRESNO (CBS SF) -- Fresno police are investigating a brutal attack on a Sikh man by two assailants as a hate crime.
It happened Saturday morning around 6:30 a.m.
Amrik Singh Bal was alone on Shields Avenue, waiting for a ride to work when the men stopped their car and started yelling obscenities at him, according to Fresno police Sgt. Greg Noll. When Bal tried to cross the street to get away, the suspects backed up the car, hitting him. Then, they got out and began beating him on his face and body.
According to the Fresno Bee, one of the suspects yelled, "Why are you here?" during the attack. Both fled when they heard a car approaching.
Bal fell and hit his head, and was later treated at a nearby hospital for a broken collar bone and abrasions on his nose and hand.
#Sikh Man Hit By Car, Brutally Beaten In Latest Islamophobic #HateCrime https://t.co/oKt5HE7X2r
#islamophobia pic.twitter.com/DPmsBhLrad
— MintPress News (@MintPressNews) December 28, 2015
The victim has a beard and was wearing a traditional turban, or Dastaar. Fresno police are investigating the attack as a hate crime. Since 9/11 there have been several attacks on Sikh men who are mistaken for Muslims or terrorists because of their turbans and beards.
In 2013, another Sikh man was attacked outside a Fresno temple. The assailant, Gilbert Garcia Jr., plead no contest to a hate crime and is was sentenced to 13 years behind bars.
"The Fresno police will be conferring with additional resources to include the Department of Homeland Security and the FBI in an attempt to solve this case," said Noll.
Police described the suspects as white males, 20 to 25 years old. One was between 5 feet 10 and 5 feet 11 inches tall, with a slim build and no facial hair. He was wearing a dark waist-length jacket.
Anyone with information should contact police at 559-498-7867.
