Man attacks woman in US gurdwara, held
Thursday, 30/03/2017
http://epaper.dailypostindia.com/Details.aspx?id=175241&boxid=65085&uid=&dat=2017-03-30
Washington: A 37-year-old man was arrested after he attacked a woman inside a gurdwara in the US state of Oregon. According to the police, Timothy Walter Schmidt was intoxicated and was walking by the Sikh temple in Oregon’s Gresham city on Sunday night. He asked to use a rest room at the temple and was allowed inside, reported Fox 12 Oregon.
When Schmidt came out of the bathroom, he saw a 26-year-old female in the gurdwara and attacked her. According to Detective Adam Baker, a temple member heard the commotion and pulled Schmidt off of the woman and held him down until the police arrived. Schmidt was lodged into Multnomah county jail and charged with assault, menacing, coercion, attempted rape, sex abuse and unlawful use of a weapon, said the report. The accused had a criminal history, including three DUII convictions, said police officials.
It is not clear if religion or ethnicity played a role in the attack, but that is something the police were looking into, according to the report. In the recent past, a number of Americans of Indian origin have been targeted in different parts of the US, raising concerns in India as well. The issue was recently raised in the Rajya Sabha, upper house of Indian Parliament, where members expressed their concerns.
