Sikh man fears hate crime after horse shot dead

“Sandhu is Sikh and wears a turban. He fears someone may have targeted him, but hopes that wasn’t the case,” a local news channel said, adding that the police are investigating it as a possible hate crime.

Misty Blue had been shot execution style in the temple, according to 61-year-old Devinder Sandhu, whose farm employee discovered his family’s beloved horse.

“Misty Blue was born on our property and was our household pet. For 20 years the farm has been a place of delight and sanctuary for those who have visited. Since this happened it’s all be horrible,” Susan Eslick, wife of Sandhu, was quoted as saying by The Tennessean. 

She said her husband is Indian and a practicing Sikh and as part of his faith he wears a turban. Since 911, she said, he’s been targeted by different people because they assume he’s Muslim. The Sikh community has condemned the incident. “We condemn this barbaric action by a misguided individual who took this step of harming an innocent animal to scare the family and the community. We are shocked by this savagery,” said Sikh Council on Religion and Education’s Chairman, Rajwant Singh.