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The shooting, on
Friday night in the city of Kent about 15 miles (24 km) south of
Seattle, followed a number of other attacks on Sikhs in the
United States over a period of more than a decade.
Hate crime-tracking groups say assailants have occasionally
mistaken Sikhs for Muslims, who have also been victimized in
religiously motivated crimes.
The Sikh man was working on his car in the driveway of his home
when he was shot in the arm, according to Seattle television
station KIRO 7, which spoke to a woman who knows the victim and
saw him after he was struck by the bullet.
"Some comments were made to the effect of 'get out of our
country, go back to where you're from,' and our victim was then
shot," Kent Police Chief Ken Thomas said at a news conference.
"To think that this could happen in our community was very
surprising and extremely disappointing," Thomas said.
Sikh community members stood behind Thomas as he described the
shooting. Police believe the suspect, who is at large, is a man,
media reported.
The victim was released from hospital, the Seattle Times
reported.
A spokesman for Kent police could not be reached for further
comment late on Saturday.
(Reporting by Alex Dobuzinskis in Los Angeles; Editing by Chris
Michaud, Robert Birsel)
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