SMART Encourages Community to Exercise Restraint before Labeling this a Hate Crime Phoenix, AZ – A Sikh convenience store employee was murdered in Tempe, Arizona on Tuesday, September 23, in a crime which has not been labeled as hate-motivated by authorities. Sukhvir Singh, 33, was apparently stabbed to death by a transient named Bruce Phillip Reed. Police have arrested the 43-year-old Reed; a man law enforcement officials say had done odd jobs for the convenience store. A knife that might have been used in the killing was found Wednesday morning at a business near the convenience store, and Reed was booked by the police and charged with murder. Since learning about the shooting yesterday, SMART representatives have spoken with Sukhvir’s cousins and close family friends. Sukhvir’s parents reside near Chandigarh in Punjab, India and have applied for a visa to come to the U.S. for the funeral. SMART, along with the Sikh community nationwide, extends our prayers to Sukhvinder Singh’s family. SMART would also like to thank friends and neighbors who created a makeshift memorial for Sukhvir Wednesday morning, which included flowers, candles and religious artifacts. We will continue to notify the community about efforts to aid the family through our web site.
