Update: Balbir Singh Sodhi

September 15, 2003

Source: The Arizona Republic

http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/0915memorial15.html

On September 15, 2003, The Arizona Republic reported that "Jeff Linn was a jobless 49-year-old struggling to pay his rent when he first met Balbir Singh Sodhi. The Sikh gas station owner offered Linn free pizza at the end of each day, but not because he felt sorry for him. 'I was on the verge of homelessness, but he didn't know that,' Linn said, tearing up as he offered other examples of Sodhi's generosity. 'It's hard to sit here and know he died for such a senseless reason. It's just unbelievable.' Linn and more than 100 others, including Mesa Mayor Keno Hawker, U.S. Attorney Paul Charlton and members of the Sikh community, gathered Sunday to remember Sodhi, just before the second anniversary of his shooting death. Sodhi's wife and oldest son released 30 white doves as a symbol of peace during the ceremony, and a wreath was placed beside a new plaque dedicated to Sodhi, to victims of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and victims of hate crimes after the attacks."