Punjab-origin man in US shoots dead daughter, mother-in-law; ends life

NEW YORK : An Indian-origin man in the US shot dead his 14-year-old daughter and his mother-in-law before turning the gun on himself, police said.

Bhupinder Singh, 57, shot his teen daughter, Jasleen Kaur, and Manjeet Kaur inside his home in the town of Schodack, about 19km south of Albany.

“Preliminary investigation has determined that Jasleen and Manjeet Kaur, both of Castleton on the Hudson, died as a result of gunshot wounds sustained during a domestic incident that occurred at their residence at approximately 9.30pm on Wednesday,” New York State Police said.

His wife, Rashpal Kaur, 40, was shot in the arm, but was able to escape, CBS6 TV reported. She is being treated at Albany Medical Center and her wounds are non-life-threatening, it said.

A neighbour, Jim Lundstrom, told The Albany Times-Union newspaper that there was likely domestic violence at that house. Jim said he was resting that night when he heard his doorbell ring nonstop, according to the Times Union, a daily newspaper in the area.

“Help me! Help me!” he said he heard someone scream.

When Jim checked outside his window, he saw someone walk away from his home and stumble her way up the street to another house. Then he opened his door. “There was blood everywhere,” Jim said.

Jim said that Rashpal Kaur would tell him and his wife things like “I don’t have any food”, “he doesn’t let me go anywhere” and “I can’t drive my car”, according to the newspaper.

The newspaper said that Singh, who owned a store selling beverages, had been charged with rape in 2016, but was acquitted after his trial the next year.

The newspaper said that the death of Jasleen Kaur was deeply felt in the community and local schools superintendent Jason Chevrier said in a statement that “words cannot express the shock, pain and grief that we are feeling at this time. All of us are struggling to make sense of this loss of such a bright young life”.