A 25-year-old Indian-origin man who was pursuing his Masters in the US was killed by a homeless man inside a store in Lithonia, Georgia. The incident was caught on camera and the accused, Julian Faulkner, was seen repeatedly hitting the student, Vivek Saini, with a hammer.
(The following video contains disturbing imagery. Viewer discretion is advised.)
Vivek worked part-time at the store as a clerk and other employees told the police they were sheltering Faulkner for almost two days. The employees gave him chips, a coke, water and a jacket to keep himself warm, reported WSB-TV.
The employees told the news channel that they did not ask Faulkner to get out of the store because they knew it was cold outside.
However, on January 16, Vivek Saini asked Faulkner to leave, or he would call the police.
According to police, Faulkner attacked Vivek with a hammer as he was leaving for home. An employee said Vivek was hit almost 50 times on his head.
When the police arrived at the scene, they discovered Faulkner with the hammer standing over Saini’s body. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
AMERICAN DREAM TURNS NIGHTMARE
According to Vivek Saini’s family in Haryana’s Barwala, he had gone to the US two years ago after completing his B Tech in Computer Science from Chandigarh University. He had recently completed his Masters in Business Administration from Alabama University.
Vivek’s cousin Simran told India Today his body reached India and his last rites are also over.
“He was a brilliant student who just wanted a decent job to support himself and his family. He used to work in a store, and for the last many days, the person identified as Vivek’s killer used to come to the store and beg for cigarettes.
Vivek used to give him cigarettes, but on that day, he refused and said he would call the police if the man came to annoy them again. Later, he came with a hammer and cold-bloodedly killed my brother,” said Simran.
Simran added that Faulker was a “drug addict and a psycho”.
The entire family is still reeling from Vivek’s brutal death and his parents, Gurjeet Singh and Lalita Saini, were not in a condition to talk about what happened.