Haryana man shot dead in US after stopping local from urinating outside store

Dubai: A 26-year-old man from Haryana’s Jind district was shot dead in California after he allegedly asked a passerby not to urinate on the roadside outside the store where he worked as a security guard, according to media reports.

The victim, Kapil, a resident of Brah Kalan village, had moved to the US in 2022 after reportedly paying Rs4.5 million to an agent and taking the risky “donkey route” through Panama and Mexico.

His family said he had applied for a green card and was working hard to build a future, but his life was cut short in an act of sudden violence.

According to relatives, Kapil objected to a local man urinating near his workplace in Los Angeles on Saturday evening.

A heated exchange followed, during which the accused pulled out a pistol and shot him. Kapil was rushed to a hospital but was declared dead on arrival, PTI reported.

“We got information from US police officials about Kapil’s death. They told us he had simply asked a man not to urinate on the road when the incident occurred,” said his uncle, Ramesh Kumar, who runs a tractor agency in Jind’s Pillu Khera.

The tragedy has devastated the family. Kapil, son of a small farmer, is survived by his parents and two sisters. “Our dreams were shattered. He had applied for a green card and we were expecting his bright future,” Ramesh added. The family has been told Kapil’s post-mortem will be conducted Wednesday due to a holiday in the US.

The family now faces the additional burden of repatriation costs, estimated at Rs1.5 million. Village sarpanch Suresh Gautam said he would accompany the family to meet the Jind Deputy Commissioner to seek government assistance in bringing the body home, Hindustan Times said.

Kapil’s death is the latest in a string of violent incidents involving Indians in the United States this year. In May, an Indian-origin shopkeeper was fatally shot during a robbery, while in March a young woman and her father were killed in Virginia after a man opened fire when told the store was closed.

For Kapil’s grieving family, however, the violence feels painfully personal. “He went abroad to build a life. Instead, he’s coming back in a coffin,” said a villager.