'Not a hate crime,' says Sushma Swaraj after alleged murder of 4 Sikhs in Cincinnati

Three women and a man belonging to Sikh community were found dead at an apartment complex in Ohio where multiple gunshots were fired.

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Surabhi Pandey
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'Not a hate crime,' says Sushma Swaraj after alleged murder of 4 Sikhs in Cincinnati

An Indian national and three persons of Indian-origin have been killed in Cincinnati in the US and the matter is being investigated by police there, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said Tuesday. However, Swaraj ruled out the possibility of a hate crime"Indian Ambassador in United States @IndianEmbassyUS has informed me about the killing of four persons in Cincinnati on Sunday evening. One of them was an Indian national on a visit to US while others were persons of Indian origin," she tweeted. The matter is under investigation by police, but it is not a hate crime, Swaraj said

"Our Consul General in New York is coordinating with the concerned authorities and will keep me informed me on this," she said.

Three women and a man belonging to Sikh community were found dead at an apartment complex in Ohio where multiple gunshots were fired, police said Monday. The president of a local Sikh temple said the family worshiped there and called the deaths “a very great loss for our community.” He added: “Everybody is in shock.” Cops were searching a nearby pond for anything that would help crack the case, said New York Post. No suspect has been identified. A man called 911 around 10 pm Sunday, saying he had arrived at the complex in a northern Cincinnati suburb to find four members of his family wounded, according to West Chester Township police. "They are on the ground and bleeding," said the caller, often choking up and out of breath as the dispatcher struggled to get details from him.

"They are all bleeding." At times, he can be heard on the 911 audio frantically yelling "Help!" apparently to neighbours at the Lakefront at West Chester complex.

Township Police Chief Joel Herzog said at a news conference Monday that it's too early in the investigation to suggest a motive. It will be up to the Butler County coroner to determine the cause of death and release the victims' identities, Herzog said.

Herzog had said that it didn't appear that anyone had shot back at the perpetrator or perpetrators, whom police were still working to identify.

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