Tuesday, February 10, 2026
ADVT 
International

US police solve year-old killing of Indian-origin businessman while another shot dead

Darpan News Desk IANS, 17 Jun, 2022 10:29 AM
  • US police solve year-old killing of Indian-origin businessman while another shot dead

New York, June 17 (IANS) An Indian-origin businessman has been shot dead inside a store in the US this week while police have solved the year-old case of the killing of another in the crime wave engulfing the nation.

Preyas Patel and an employee were found shot dead inside a store in Newport News city in Virginia on Wednesday, WTKR TV reported.

And in Lindenhurst in New York, police, who persisted in pursuing the killing of Kinshuk Patel with a machete in his store, finally arrested the suspect, WCBS TV reported on Thursday.

"Thanks to detectives, it's a good job, one year to close this issue and I request to all the people, please, (to do) justice to all family," Sanjay Patel, a cousin of Kinshuk Patel, told the station.

Newport News Police Chief Steve Drew that a customer who visited the 7-Elven store found no one was working and called police, WTKR said.

When police went there they found Patel, 52, and Logan Edward Thomas, 35, dead at the store attached to a petrol station, Drew said.

He said that police suspect it was a botched robbery and were looking for witnesses and scouring videos from surveillance cameras, according to the station.

The US is facing an unprecedented surge in violent crime and in New York State homicides increased by 58 per cent in 2021 compared to 2019.

Both men were working in retail businesses, which have a high concentration of Indian immigrants, and which, according to a US government agency, have a "high risk of assaults and violent acts".

In Lindenhurst, an official said they had the alleged killer Yoel Atzmon's fingerprint and DNA blood evidence and a video of him entering Kinshuk Patel's store, according to WCBS.

Kinshuk Patel, 33, is survived by two sons, 18 months old and five years old, and his wife Ruchika Patel.

She went to the store, Dapper Smoke Shop, when her husband had not returned home after closing time and found the mayhem there, the station said.

When the accused killer Atzmon was produced in court, he became "agitated" and the judge ordered him held without bail and to undergo a psychiatric evaluation, WCBS reported.

"He should be in jail his whole life because he wasted a life," Ruchika Patel told the station.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, "retail work is one of the highest-risk jobs for workplace violence" and "businesses at high risk of assaults and violent acts include convenience stores, gas stations, and businesses that sell alcoholic beverages".

 

MORE International ARTICLES

COVID vaccine found highly effective in real-world US study

COVID vaccine found highly effective in real-world US study
The two vaccines available since December — Pfizer and Moderna — were 90% effective after two doses, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Monday. In testing, the vaccines were about 95% effective in preventing COVID-19.

COVID vaccine found highly effective in real-world US study

Reputation of AstraZeneca's COVID vaccine marred by missteps

Reputation of AstraZeneca's COVID vaccine marred by missteps
In Norway, a top official warned on Monday it might not be able to resume its use of the vaccine because so many people were rejecting it.

Reputation of AstraZeneca's COVID vaccine marred by missteps

EXPLAINER: Will you need a 'vaccine passport' to travel?

EXPLAINER: Will you need a 'vaccine passport' to travel?
It is not clear, however, whether any of the passports under development will be accepted broadly around the world, and the result could be confusion among travellers and disappointment for the travel industry.

EXPLAINER: Will you need a 'vaccine passport' to travel?

EXPLAINER: Why Georgia attack spurs fears in Asian Americans

EXPLAINER: Why Georgia attack spurs fears in Asian Americans
As details emerge, many members of the Asian American community see the Georgia killings as a haunting reminder of harassment and assaults that have been occurring from coast to coast.

EXPLAINER: Why Georgia attack spurs fears in Asian Americans

EXPLAINER: Why countries are halting the AstraZeneca shot

EXPLAINER: Why countries are halting the AstraZeneca shot
Norway, Iceland, Bulgaria, Thailand, and Congo soon followed suit. On Saturday, Norwegian authorities reported that four people under age 50 who had gotten the AstraZeneca vaccine had an unusually low number of blood platelets.

EXPLAINER: Why countries are halting the AstraZeneca shot

WHO grants emergency authorization for J&J COVID vaccine

WHO grants emergency authorization for J&J COVID vaccine
In a statement, the U.N. health agency said “the ample data from large clinical trials” shows the J&J vaccine is effective in adult populations. The emergency use listing comes a day after the European Medicines Agency recommended the shot be given the green light across the 27-country European Union.

WHO grants emergency authorization for J&J COVID vaccine