A gunman opened fire at two convenience stores in Georgia, the United States, on Tuesday evening, killing an Indian-American on the spot and injuring another who is reportedly in a critical condition.
The victim, identified as Paramjit Singh, was pronounced dead at the scene after he was shot multiple times at the Hi-Tech Quick Stop on Burnett Ferry Road, the Press Trust of India reported.
The 44-year-old father of two was shot thrice as he was standing behind the counter. The local police have recovered a CCTV footage which shows the suspect, Lamar Rashad Nicholson, 28, walking into the store and firing shots.
About 10 minutes after killing Paramjit, Nicholson entered a nearby store where he shot Parthey Patel, a 30-year-old clerk, at the Elm Street Food and Beverage. He also reportedly stole money from the Indian-American clerk before shooting him.
The accused has been taken into custody and sent to Floyd County Jail. He has been charged with aggravated robbery, assault, possession of a firearm and murder. Nicholson, a convicted felon, reportedly walked into the store and opened fire, despite no attempt of a robbery on the first store, the police said.
A female employee who was present at the store during the shooting was left uninjured, a local newspaper reported.
The police officials have said that there was no attempt to rob the store but the gunman simply opened fire. "He didn't take anything. He didn't take any money. He didn't take any articles from the store. He just simply came in and fired off three rounds at the clerk and killed him," WSBTV quoted Floyd County police Sgt. William Wacker as saying.
This is not the first time that Nicholson has been charged for a crime. The police authorities said that he was earlier arrested on January 9 after he cursed a three-year-old and grabbed her by the arm.
In a similar incident, an elderly Indian-American woman and her son were shot dead at their home in Virginia on February 1. According to the police officials, the double homicide was said to be 'not a random case and there was no indication of any threat to the public.'
The mother and son were living alone in their home and there was no sign of forced entry, the police said. A manhunt was launched as the investigations are still ongoing.
