New York city mayor Zohran Mamdani on Thursday said he was “blessed” to join the the Hindu New Yorkers in Queens to celebrate Navratri, Durga Puja, Dashain, and Vijayadashami.
“This week, I was blessed to join Hindu New Yorkers in Queens celebrating Navratri, Durga Puja, Dashain, and Vijayadashami. We danced garba, performed aarti, witnessed Sindoor Khela, and honored the Goddess Durga,” he said in a post on X.
Acknowledging the attempted mass shooting attempt at a Hindu temple in Illinois last week, Mamdani said it was an “honour” to come together in joy, faith, and community in temples across the city. He urged communities to stand against hate and care for one another.
“It was an honour to come together in joy, faith, and community in temples across our city — especially after the attempted mass shooting at a Hindu temple in Illinois last week. May we all join together in our shared responsibility to stand against hate and care for one another.”
In pictures and videos shared by Mamdani and social media users, he can be seen participating in garba with members of the Indian diaspora community and joining prayers and other festive rituals at temples.
Shooting attempt at Hindu temple in Illinois
His remarks come after an alleged mass-shooting plot at a Hindu temple in Illinois. Nineteen-year old Alexandros Paporakis was arrested on October 11.
{{/usCountry}}His remarks come after an alleged mass-shooting plot at a Hindu temple in Illinois. Nineteen-year old Alexandros Paporakis was arrested on October 11.
{{/usCountry}}A cashier at Taco Bell from Palatine, Illinois, allegedly told one of his co-workers that Sunday was going to be “a special day.” He has been charged with one count of making a terrorist threat and one count of unlawful possession of weapons.
Investigators allege that Paporakis planned to target Indians at the Sri Venkateswara Swami (Balaji) Temple in Aurora, located about 65 km west of downtown Chicago. He focused on the temple for around two months, according to prosecutors.
Prosecutors also alleged that Paporakis attempted to carry out the attack on October 11 but his rifle malfunctioned when he tried to shoot a man from a car. Paporakis called one coworker earlier in the day Sunday, saying that his gun had jammed and he left “super fast” without being seen, the Associated Press reported.
Paporakis openly identified as a white supremacist at work and told them he couldn’t wait to kill Indian people, prosecutors from the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office were quoted as saying in an AP report.
In an eight-page document sent by Paporakis to his co-worker, he described Indian, Jewish and African American people as “subhumans” and outlined a plot to kill as many of them as possible, according to a court document cited by The Associated Press.
When he turned up at the temple, it was filled with people while he was planning to “kill a significant number of Indians," NBC Chicago quoted a police official as saying.