Lancaster, SC (Diya TV) — A 43-year-old convenience store owner originally from India was shot and killed outside his home, just days after the Kansas triple-shooting that left Srinivas Kuchibhotla dead, which the FBI is currently investigating as a hate crime.
Harnish Patel, owner of a business in Lancaster, S.C., was found dead in the front yard of his home with apparent gunshot wounds Thursday, coroner and police officials said.
After closing his Speedee Mart store, he drove home to be confronted by his would-be killer, police said. He had closed his store less than 10 minutes before his death, they added. He was found in his front yard just a few minutes before midnight, according to a statement from the Lancaster County coroner’s office.
A neighbor tells me he heard 3 gunshots last night outside Harnish Patel's home on Craig Manor Rd. Patel was killed in his yard. pic.twitter.com/LPYincLudC
— Greg Suskin (@PIOYorkCountySC) March 3, 2017
Lancaster Police said they received calls around 11:30 pm from residents reporting screaming and gunshots coming from Patel’s home. Sheriff Barry Faile said early investigations do not indicate Patel was targeted for his Indian ethnicity, and the matter is not currently being investigated as a hate crime.
“I don’t have any reason to believe that this was racially motivated,” Faile said.
Friends and customers were in shock and were visiting Patel’s home to offer condolences to his family. “Who would do anything like this to him, as good as he is to everybody,” Nicole Jones, a frequent customer at Patel’s store, told WBTV.
Sign on door at Harnish Patel's Lancaster store says it's closed due to family emergency. Owner was shot and killed last night. pic.twitter.com/gFpjQpjtWt
— Greg Suskin (@PIOYorkCountySC) March 3, 2017