Murder of Balbir Singh Sodhi

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Balbir Singh Sodhi
Born(1949-07-06)July 6, 1949
Jalandhar, Punjab, India
DiedSeptember 15, 2001(2001-09-15) (aged 52)
Mesa, Arizona, U.S.
Occupation(s)Entrepreneur, franchisee, computer engineer/analyst (formerly)

Balbir Singh Sodhi (July 6, 1949 – September 15, 2001),

first degree murder. He died in prison on May 11, 2022.[4]

Background

Born on July 6, 1949, in

Sikh religion. He was also a husband, and father to three sons and two daughters.[5][6] He immigrated to the United States in 1989 and initially resided in Los Angeles, where he worked as a computer engineer and analyst at HP. He saved enough money to buy a gas station and several affiliated franchises in Phoenix, Arizona, and moved there.[7] Sodhi's gas station had been running for just a year prior to his murder and in that time he had become known amongst the community as a generous and kind man who often gave free candy to children who came in.[8]

On September 11, 2001, members of

Islamist group, hijacked four airplanes and perpetrated the 9/11 attacks, killing 2,977 victims. According to family members, Sodhi had become distraught by the attacks.[9]

Shooting of Sodhi, others

On September 15, 2001, 4 days after the attacks, Roque took his Chevrolet S-10 from the Wild Hare sports bar in Mesa, where he had reportedly been ranting about immigrants, and drove to the Chevron gas station owned by Sodhi. Roque shot Sodhi five times from his truck with a .380 handgun, killing him. At the time of the shooting, Sodhi was helping landscaper Luis Ledesma plant flowers around the edge of his gas station in order to commemorate the lives of those lost in the 9/11 attacks.[10] Roque, who apparently wanted revenge for the 9/11 attacks, racially profiled him as an Arab Muslim because of the clothes he wore, his turban, and his beard.

Roque then drove to a Mobil gas station ten miles (sixteen kilometers) away. Twenty minutes after the first shooting, he shot at a Lebanese-American clerk from his truck, but missed.[7] Roque then drove to his former residence, which had been purchased by a local Afghan family, and fired multiple rounds at the outside of the house. After fleeing the scene of the final shooting, Roque was reported to have gone to a local bar and boasted, "They're investigating the murder of a turban-head down the street."[11][1]

Attitudes towards the Sikh community post-9/11

Sodhi's murder was preceded by multiple hostile incidences in the Phoenix area, targeted at Sikhs in the days following the 9/11 attacks. A Sikh spokesperson stated that it was difficult for Sikhs in the community to go to work at gas stations or to work as cashiers because of the rise in overt harassment towards them.[6] This spokesperson also described how the appearance of Sikh men make them easy targets due to their beards and turbans which make Sikh men "look more like bin Laden than Muslims do".[6]

After the 9/11 attacks, there was a lot of eagerness to retaliate against those who perpetrated the terror attacks, and members of the Sikh community, mainly men, became the targets of these retaliations.[12] Sikhs became the victims of a multitude of hate crimes such as murder, redundancy, threats, and the burning of their places of worship (Gurudwaras).[12]

Many Sikhs began experiencing acts of discrimination within their friendships and relationships that were formed prior to the terror attacks.[12] Their relationships became strained due to suspicion, with Sikh men being asked to cut their hair and to stop wearing their turbans in order to mitigate further suspicion.

Arrest, trial, and conviction of shooter

Police arrested Roque the next day, initially unaware of the later shooting incidents. He reportedly shouted slogans including "I am a patriot!" and "I stand for America all the way!" during his arrest.[13] His bail was set at $1 million.

Roque's

first degree murder, and was sentenced to death nine days later.[14]

On July 19, 2005, Roque was found guilty of an unspecified conspiracy charge while in prison, specified only as a violent crime. On February 27, 2006, he was found guilty of having manufactured a primitive weapon in prison three days earlier. In August 2006, the Arizona Supreme Court changed Roque's death sentence to a sentence of life in prison without parole, citing his low IQ and

mental illness as mitigating factors.[15][16] The trial was aired by Court TV in a five-part series.[17]

Roque died on May 11, 2022, while in

Arizona Department of Corrections custody.[4] He was 62 years old.[2]

Sukhpal Singh Sodhi

On August 4, 2002, less than a year after Balbir's death, his younger brother Sukhpal was shot to death while driving his taxicab in San Francisco, apparently killed by a stray bullet from a nearby gang fight. In response to this second tragedy, Balbir's son said, "What are you going to do with anger? We like peace and we are peaceful people."[18]

Memorialization of Balbir Singh Sodhi

In the months prior to the 10-year anniversary of Sodhi's death, the Arizona legislature decided that they wanted to remove Sodhi's name and plaque from the state's 9/11 memorial. This was

vetoed by the governor after an outcry of advocacy from community groups in the area.[19]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "Remembering Victims of Hate Crimes". Southern Poverty Law Center. Retrieved July 5, 2013.
  2. ^ a b "Death Row Inmate Profiles". azcorrections.gov. Archived from the original on January 13, 2009. Retrieved July 3, 2022.
  3. ^ Karr, Valarie (September 23, 2016). "His brother was murdered for wearing a turban after 9/11. 15 years later, he spoke to the killer". pri.org. Retrieved May 15, 2018.
  4. ^
    Gannett Company
    . Retrieved June 8, 2022.
  5. Newspapers.com
    .
  6. ^ a b c "Three killed as racist attacks increase in US". World Socialist Web Site. Retrieved November 15, 2022.
  7. ^ a b Lewin, Tamar (September 17, 2001). "Sikh Owner Of Gas Station Is Fatally Shot In Rampage". The New York Times.
  8. ^ "'This is my country': how the family of Balbir Singh Sodhi resolved to carry on his American dream". the Guardian. September 14, 2021. Retrieved November 15, 2022.
  9. ^ Gingold, Naomi (September 20, 2016). "The brother of one of the first hate-crime victims post 9/11 keeps on teaching tolerance". pri.org. Retrieved May 15, 2018.
  10. ^ "A Sikh man's murder at a gas station revealed another tragedy of 9/11". www.cnn.com. Retrieved November 15, 2022.
  11. ^ Hundal, Sunny (August 6, 2012). "Wisconsin temple shooting: Sikhs have been silent scapegoats since 9/11". The Guardian. London, England. Retrieved August 8, 2012.
  12. ^
    ISSN 2159-8142
    .
  13. ^ "Chapter 6: Fears and Concerns of Affected, At-Risk Communities". Usccr.gov. Retrieved July 4, 2016.
  14. ^ a b Borger, Julian (October 10, 2003). "September 11 revenge killer to die for shooting Sikh". The Guardian. London, England. Retrieved May 15, 2018.
  15. Gannett Company. Archived from the original
    on July 20, 2012. Retrieved December 10, 2017.
  16. ^ "DNSI Blog: Arizona Supreme Court Overturns Death Sentence for Frank Roque - Killer of Balbir Singh Sodhi". Korematsu.blogspot.com. August 15, 2006. Retrieved July 29, 2010.
  17. Gannett Company
    . Retrieved May 15, 2018.
  18. Gannett Company. Archived from the original
    on January 22, 2003. Retrieved June 8, 2005.
  19. S2CID 236761685
    .

Further reading
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