Norimitsu Onishi and
The Sikh temple leader wanted as a terrorist by India walked toward his pickup truck late one Sunday last June after a long day at his place of worship. He and an associate discussed some upcoming programs while making their way across the large parking lot behind the Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara temple near Vancouver.
It was Father’s Day and, once inside his gray Dodge Ram, the leader, Hardeep Singh Nijjar, called his family and said he was heading right home. But he had barely reached the parking lot’s exit when, according to temple officials who have watched the temple’s security video, a white vehicle suddenly blocked him. Then, witnesses say, they heard a burst of automatic gunfire and saw two hooded men running away from Mr. Nijjar’s immobilized pickup.
“It went on for about 10 seconds,” said one witness, Bhupinder Jit Singh, a temple member who was playing soccer in a field next to the parking lot.
Running, Mr. Singh was the first to reach the Dodge Ram, where he found a still-buckled Mr. Nijjar slumped over the center console, his right arm stretched out toward the passenger seat. Bullets had pierced his arms, chest, shoulders and head, spattering blood across his white and light purple shirt. His blue turban was hanging off the right side of his head.
The violent, professional-style killing of Mr. Nijjar now lies at the center of a diplomatic clash between Canada and India that comes just as Western allies have been trying to strengthen ties with the Indian government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Interviews with three witnesses to the killing and descriptions of the security footage showing the moments leading up to the shooting provide details about the gunmen whom Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of Canada has branded as “agents” of the Indian government.
This story was originally published in nytimes.com. Read the full story here .