Indian-origin man accused of murdering two men in US parking lot
Darpan News Desk IANS, 05 May, 2023 11:37 AM
New York, May 5 (IANS) A 21-year-old Indian origin man has been booked for fatally shooting two men at a parking lot of a mall in US state of Oregon in a possible case of double homicide, police said.
Jobanpreet Singh, 21, was booked into the Multnomah County Detention Center on two counts of murder in the first degree on Thursday, the Portland Police Bureau said.
Central Precinct officers responded to a report of a shooting on Wednesday at 2.45 p.m. (local time) in the 9100 block of Southeast Barbur Boulevard, and found two men dead in a parking lot after arriving.
Portland police are yet to publicly identify the two men who died, media reports said.
According to OregonLive, Singh pleaded not guilty to two counts of first-degree murder and four counts of unlawful use of a weapon when he made a brief appearance in court on Thursday for an arraignment.
According to video surveillance footage reviewed by police, Singh and two friends were seated at a table outside Bentoz Teriyaki restaurant before he got up and walked toward a man who had just parked his car, the website reported.
Another man approached that car and then walked quickly toward Singh with a phone in his hand, Multnomah County Deputy District Attorney Margaret Burgess wrote in the affidavit.
Singh then drew out a pistol from his pocket, raised it towards the two men in front of him, and "shot multiple rounds", Burgess wrote.
The report said that Singh continued to shoot even after the two men had collapsed to the pavement in the parking lot, the affidavit said.
While the two men died on the spot, Singh called 911 to report the shooting, remained at the scene and was arrested, the OregonLive reported.
The affidavit did not mention what led to the shooting, but according to witnesses they heard some type of yelling or argument before hearing between six and 10 gunshots.
"One man got into another person's face. The shooter pulled out his gun and the two young men ran," Kayia Murrell, a witness, told OregonLive.
The two men who were shot did not appear to be armed, she said, adding that she didn't know what the men were arguing about.
Singh, who is being held without bail in the detention centre, is scheduled to return to court on May 12. The Portland Police Bureau Homicide Unit is investigating the incident, and has asked witnesses to come forward.
Singh, 59, a private hire driver working for ABC Cars, was pronounced dead in Nine Elms Lane, Wolverhampton, on October 30 after he was discovered with serious injuries. Tomasz Margol, 35, of Bamford Road was charged with Singh's murder, and produced before the Wolverhampton Crown Court earlier this month.
The longest-serving Indian American in Congress, Bera was declared winner on Tuesday night even as the counting of votes was continuing in his California House district a week after the November 8 election. A doctor, Bera, 57, was first elected to Congress in 2012.
Under the new UK-India Young Professionals Scheme, the country will offer 3,000 places annually to 18-30 year-old degree educated Indian nationals to come to the UK to live and work here for up to two years.
In an abbreviated version of his usual rally performance — he entered, on cue, to Lee Greenwood’s "God Bless the U.S.A.," his unofficial theme song — Trump made no mention of his presumptive rival, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.
The rise in Indian students moving to the US is likely to overtake China in 2022-23, with 82,000 visas issued between June and August - the highest number among all countries.
Trump had said at the start of polling on November 8 midterms he would make an important announcement on November 15. But the Republicans are thinking in terms of Ron DeSantis, the Florida hero, and former VP Mike Pence with his own plans for a run, embittered by Trump calling him a "wimp".
