After Srinivas Kuchibhotla, Indian businessman Harnish Patel shot dead in US. A 43-year-old Indian American store owner in the US has been shot dead outside his home. Harnish Patel, the owner of a convenience store in Lancaster County, South Carolina, was found dead of gunshot wounds in the front yard of his home.

Local officials in Lancaster said that they do not believe that Patel's killing was a bias crime and that investigations are continuing. "I don't have any reason to believe that this was racially motivated," County Sheriff Barry Faile said.

Patel was found in the yard a few minutes before midnight, according to a statement from the Lancaster County Coroner's Office. Lancaster County police received calls at 11:33 PM after people had called 911 to say that they heard screaming and gunshots. Sheriff Barry Faile said that the Indian ethnicity of Patel does not appear to be a factor in the crime.

"I don't have any reason to believe that this was racially motivated," Faile said. Friends and customers were in shock and were visiting Patel's home to offer condolences to his family.

"Who would do anything like this to him, as good as he is to everybody," Nicole Jones, a frequent customer at Patel's store said. "If you didn't have the money, he'd let people have food," Jones said.

"He's watched my kids grow up, which is why it's painful. From day one he's been amazing, just awesome, and I just don't understand the sense behind it," Mario Sadler, another customer and friend said.

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By Premji