Police Investigate Threats

KANSAS CITY, Kan.

Police are now investigating a possible hate crime against a native of Pakistan and longtime owner of a convenience store in Kansas City.

Bullets were fired into the Short Stop store Wednesday at about 2 a.m. Mohammed Hemayoun said he understands why police are investigating this as more than a typical drive-by shooting, but the incident has left him feeling very uneasy, according to KMBC in Kansas City. The terrorist attacks on America Sept. 11 have caused a number of crimes nationwide against those of Middle Eastern decent, the report said.

Hemayoun, known as "Joe" to his customers, a U.S. citizen who has lived in Kansas City for the last five years. Despite all of the close relationships he has developed in America's Heartland, he said he realizes why tension is running high. "My own personal feeling is still am not mentally accepting that this was a hate crime," he said as the front window of his store had been turned to a large pile of broken glass. "This could be a regular crime. I don't think a hate crime."

Hemayoun said the community has always supported him. His shop was closed at the time of the shooting and no injuries were reported.

Meanwhile, in Cleburne, Texas, a Pakistani native said a murder threat prompted him to shut down his business. Mobinur Khandurrani, an American citizen, closed his unbranded gas station in north Texas because a man threatened to kill him following the Sept. 11 attacks.

Khandurrani, who moved to the United States in 1979, said he invested his life savings into his business. "I have nothing to do right now," he told the Associated Press. "I have to go out and find a job somewhere, because I have to feed my family."

Police say a white man went to the gas station Sept. 18 and said, "I'm giving you until Friday to go back where you came from or I will come back and shoot you." The man reportedly returned later that morning with a gun, but no one was injured. Police in Cleburne, about 40 miles south of Fort Worth, have made no arrests in the case.
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