- Home
- Solano News
- US / World
- Opinion
- Living
- Entertainment
- Sports
- Business
- Obituaries
- Comics
- Gallery
- Classifieds
- Advertisers
- Coupons
- Contact Us
4,114
1,824
Sikh temple pays respects to Sandy Hook victims with vigil
Mangid Kaur and her son Gurhan Bandhear places candles at the entrance of Guru Nanak Sikh Temple in remembrance of the the victims at Sandy Hook Elementary School during a candlelit vigil Wednesday in Fairfield. (Conner Jay/Daily Republic)
FAIRFIELD — Community members and members of the Guru Nanak Sikh temple stood outside the temple doors Wednesday with candles in hand to say a prayer for lives lost at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut.
A similar scene took place this summer at the same location as hundreds came together to remember those killed at a shooting at a Sikh temple in Wisconsin.
The Guru Nanak Sikh temple honored the lives of the 26 adults and children killed Friday in the shooting at Sandy Hook with a quiet but powerful candlelight vigil and prayer.
President of the temple board Manjit Purewal said the Sikh community was shocked, especially because of how young most of the victims were.
“They feel like their own kids were killed,” Purewal said of his community.
Jasminder Singh, a member of the temple, said that she was emotional the day she heard about the shooting. She was afraid, she said, for her own children and their livelihood. It also shocked her that another shooting took place where people should feel safe.
“Where are we safe anymore?” she said.
In August, the Solano County Sikh and interfaith community mourned the six people killed at the Sikh temple in Wisconsin. While there are parallels to the Sandy Hook shooting, vice president Tony Hans simply said, “a shooting is a shooting.”
“This is a bad moment for everybody,” he said.
Purewal echoed that statement during the candlelight vigil. Even though Newtown, Conn. is thousands of miles away, it is times like these, he said, that the Sikh community pays respect. He ended the vigil with a prayer for everybody killed, “even the ones who did this,” he said.
“It is a sign of brotherhood, to offer sympathy, condolences,” he said. “We are all Americans. . . . We are all humans.”
Discussion | No comments
The Daily Republic does not necessarily condone the comments here, nor does it review every post. Read our full policy