A non-resident Indian was stabbed to death and two of his friends injured in a brawl outside the venue of a Punjabi folk dance show in Washington on Sunday.
Ranjit Singh, 20, who immigrated from Punjab to the US only two years ago, was stabbed at the Old Post Office Pavilion, a retail and office space at 11th street and Pennsylvania Avenue, five blocks from the White House.
The fight broke out outside the building shortly before the annual 'Bhangra Blowout' organised by George Washington University students was to end at 3 am.
A man of either Latin American or Indian ethnicity, wearing a white shirt and braces, pulled out a knife and fatally stabbed Singh. Two friends of Singh pursued the attacker until they were stabbed by him at 12th street and Pennsylvania Avenue, police said adding that the assailant escaped in a green car.
Sgt. Joe Gentile, a police spokesman, said he did not know the extent of their injuries or the cause of the fight.
Singh's family said Ranjit had decided to leave New Jersey Friday night for some events. From his family home in New Jersey, his brother Manjit Singh said that Ranjit worked seven days a week, and even some nights, as a convenience store clerk.
This weekend was the first time he had taken a break. "I just can't believe this has happened," Manjit said. "He never goes anywhere. He is just always working, working."
George Washington University said it would conduct a full review of the 'Bhangra Blowout' and decide whether the 12 year-old annual event should be run differently, or if it should be held at all.
The 'Bhangra Blowout' in Washington has become one of the largest events for South Asian American college students on the East Coast. The competition on Sunday drew teams from nine colleges seeking to show off their skill at the Punjabi folk dance.
The incident, which came a month after a fatal stabbing near a nightclub housed in a District of Columbia government building, renewed calls from neighbourhood activists that public buildings should not be used for late-night events.
"Government buildings were not designed with nightclub events in mind," said Terrance Lynch, executive director of
the Downtown Cluster of Congregations.
Lynch said he has complained repeatedly to the General Services Administration, which controls the Old Post Office Pavilion, that the space is being managed improperly.
Lynch said he would press the city's Alcoholic Beverage Control Board to tighten rules for such one-time events as the Bhangra Blowout party, which are less regulated than nightclubs. "I understand the desire for these special promoted events. But we have got to work harder to get the safety measures in place so that they can happen safely," he said.
