January 30, 2024
An Indian student was killed in Georgia, United States by a homeless man, whom he had reportedly been feeding and sheltering, according to local media reports citing the police.
Footage from a security camera showed Vivek Saini, 25, being repeatedly beaten with a hammer by Julian Faulkner, 53, Wion reported.
Employees at the Chevron Food Mart told police that before the attack, for nearly two days, they had been allowing a homeless man to come in and out of their store.
One of the employees, who wished to be unidentified, told WSB-TV that Faulkner would ask for coke and chips and they would give him "everything including the water".
The employee also told the media outlet that the man would sit in the store "all the time" and they never asked him to leave since it was so cold.
However, on January 16, just after midnight, Saini, who moved to the US from India’s Haryana two years ago and reportedly worked part-time at the store as a clerk, asked Faulkner to leave, or he would call the police.
As the Indian student was preparing to leave, police said, Faulkner attacked him.
"He hit him from the back then he kept on hitting for almost 50 times on the face on the head," the employee told the news channel.
The police found Faulkner standing over Saini's lifeless body. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
Faulkner was arrested on the spot and remains in DeKalb County Jail. He has since been charged with felony murder and interference with government property.
Amid the ongoing investigation, it was also revealed that the officers who arrested Faulkner also found two knives and another hammer on him.
After the incident made headlines across India, the Consulate General of India in Atlanta, condemned the attack in the "strongest terms" and said it is in touch with the victim's family.