© 2024 KVPR | Valley Public Radio - White Ash Broadcasting, Inc. :: 89.3 Fresno / 89.1 Bakersfield
89.3 Fresno | 89.1 Bakersfield
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations
78 new monthly members to go to reach our March goal! Start a new monthly gift today, or increase your existing monthly donation to help us reach the goal.

Fresno Police Investigating Murder Of Sikh Man As Potential Hate Crime

Fresno Police Department
Fresno Police Chief Jerry Dyer announces a $10,000 reward for information in connection with the murder.

There is now a $10,000 reward for tips related to the New Year's Day murder of a Fresno convenience store clerk.

On Wednesday police released security camera video of the crime. It depicts the suspect, who they say is probably in his late teens, lurking outside the central Fresno store waiting for customers to leave.

When the store was empty the man lured Gurchuran Singh Gill toward him and stabbed him. The man tried to break into the cash register but failed and left with a few stolen items. 

The stabbing was the second violent attack on a Sikh man in Fresno in as many weeks. Police have not ruled out the possibility the New Year's attack was a hate crime, although Gill was not wearing a turban or other clothing associated with Sikh culture. 

Gill, who was 68, was working at the store to help put his son through medical school. 

In late December an elderly Sikh man was severely beaten near Shields Avenue west of Highway 99.  That incident is also being investigated as a potential hate crime. In 2013, another elderly Sikh man was assaulted in a hate crime in the same area. 

Jeffrey Hess is a reporter and Morning Edition news host for Valley Public Radio. Jeffrey was born and raised in a small town in rural southeast Ohio. After graduating from Otterbein University in Columbus, Ohio with a communications degree, Jeffrey embarked on a radio career. After brief stops at stations in Ohio and Texas, and not so brief stops in Florida and Mississippi, Jeffrey and his new wife Shivon are happy to be part Valley Public Radio.
Related Content