{"id":856,"date":"2004-12-29T11:47:01","date_gmt":"2004-12-29T16:47:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sepiamutiny.com?p=856"},"modified":"2005-01-14T00:48:28","modified_gmt":"2005-01-14T05:48:28","slug":"mississippi_gas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/sepiamutiny.com\/blog\/2004\/12\/29\/mississippi_gas\/","title":{"rendered":"Mississippi Gas station owner shot by “Scream” killer"},"content":{"rendered":"

This story in the Mississippi Clarion Ledger<\/a> is disturbing on several levels. The first is the personal story:<\/p>\n\n

\nAfter several years, Vinod Taneja was to be reunited with his wife Monday night<\/b> at Jackson International Airport after years of being apart.\n
\n
\nTaneja, 56, had come alone to the United States from the couple’s home in northern India to make a life for them.\n
\n
\nHe opened Highway 80 Mini Mart in south Jackson a few months ago and was the store’s only employee.\n
\n
\nBut about two hours before his wife’s flight was scheduled to arrive at 10:30 p.m., Taneja was shot and killed at his store at 5049 U.S. 80 West.\n
\n
\n“He wanted to make a home here,” said Hitesh Desai of the India Association of Mississippi. “The fact that his wife came here under these circumstances is demoralizing.\n<\/blockquote>\n\n

As if the cruel fate of that in itself isn’t sad enough, the circumstances of his death take a bizarre twist:<\/p>\n\n

\nNo one has been arrested, and a motive has not been established in Taneja’s death, said Jackson police spokesman Robert Graham.\n
\n
\nA man wearing a “Scream” mask and dark clothes came in the store and shot Taneja, Graham said<\/b>.\n
\n
\nThe mask and a piece of clothing were found in trash near the store, police said.\n<\/blockquote>\n\n

Apparently this isn’t the first incident, but one in a string, that could very well be unrelated, but has nevertheless instilled a greater anxiety in the South Asian gas station and convenience store community (around 65 owners) in Jackson, Mississippi. The community is also quick to point out a series of murders six years ago:<\/p>\n\n

\nAbout six years ago, fear gripped the city’s Indian community after a series of killings involving Indian merchants.\n
\n
\nHomicides and other types of violence against Indians led to the formation of the Indian Association for Crime Victims of Mississippi<\/b>.\n
\n
\nDesai said nothing has come of the organization though.\n
\n
\n“We are contributing citizens who pay taxes and abide by the law,” he said. “I guess there is a lack of respect for us. This just can’t go on anymore.”\n<\/blockquote>\n\n

The Jackson Police tried to quell any speculation of a pattern by stating the following:<\/p>\n\n

\n…department statistics aren’t showing an increase in crime involving Indian-owned businesses<\/b>. He said detectives diligently are handling the case as they would for anyone.\n
\n
\n“Any homicide investigation, regardless of nationality, has the highest emphasis at the police department,” he said.\n<\/blockquote>\n\n

Thanks to Anji for this tip.<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This story in the Mississippi Clarion Ledger is disturbing on several levels. The first is the personal story: After several years, Vinod Taneja was to be reunited with his wife Monday night at Jackson International Airport after years of being … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[2],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/sepiamutiny.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/856"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/sepiamutiny.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/sepiamutiny.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/sepiamutiny.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/sepiamutiny.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=856"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/sepiamutiny.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/856\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/sepiamutiny.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=856"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/sepiamutiny.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=856"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/sepiamutiny.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=856"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}