The Kent Police Department is investigating a Friday night shooting that left a man wounded in the Panther Lake neighborhood as a possible hate crime.
A victim was shot about 8 p.m. in his driveway by another man who yelled, "Go back to your own country."
Authorities say the armed individual walked up to the victim, who was working on his car in a driveway.
The victim, who is a member of the Sikh community, was wearing a turban.
"To think this could happen in our community is very surprising and very disappointing," police Chief Ken Thomas said.
Thomas went on to say that the suspect and the victim did not know each other.
“This is the first incident of this magnitude that I am aware of in the city of Kent,” Thomas said.
Members of the Sikh community came out to talk to police.
They want to push authorities, including the FBI, to investigate this as a hate crime.
One man says many people are scared and couldn’t believe something like this could happen here.
“All they see is a person with a turban, so it could have easily been me,” Amarjit Singh said.
The 39-year-old victim's name has not been released. Police say he was shot in the arm and is expected to be OK.
The shooter is white and about 6 feet tall, with a medium build.
Anyone with information is asked to call police.
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