On a quiet Sunday morning, the city of Snohomish lost a beloved member of its community. Tejpal Paul Singh, a 60-year-old man of Indian descent, was working his early morning shift at a Chevron gas station in Lynnwood, Washington, on September 26, 2021, a routine he had followed for 21 years. Tragically, his life was cut short when a masked gunman entered the store around 5:40 a.m. and shot him in what authorities believe was an attempted robbery.
The suspect, described as a white man in his teens or early 20s, fled the scene. Security footage captured an image of the gunman wearing a black puffy jacket, dark pants, white slip-on sandals, and an orange and black baseball cap.
For over two decades, Singh had been a familiar and welcoming presence at the Chevron on Highway 99. He was a husband and a father to three children. Singh, a man of the Sikh faith, had immigrated to the United States from India in the 1980s and was known for his gentle and cooperative nature, always ready to help those in need. He was an active volunteer at the Gurudwara Sikh Centre of Seattle. His loss was deeply felt by his family and the community he served, who remembered him as a loving and accepting person with a bright smile that drew people to him. A GoFundMe campaign for his funeral services raised over $40,000 within the first 18 hours, a testament to the positive impact he had on his community. A vigil held in his memory drew over 200 people who came to share their memories and pay their respects.
The Snohomish County Sheriff's department launched an investigation into the homicide, releasing a photo of the suspect to the public and asking for help in identifying the individual. Sometime after the incident, a 23-year-old man and his 24-year-old girlfriend from Enumclaw were arrested in connection with the case. However, the woman was later released, and the man was held in custody on unrelated charges. As of July 2023, the murder of Tejpal Singh was still under investigation, and no suspect had been formally charged or arrested for his death. The community continues to mourn the loss of a man described by a former co-worker as "the most wholesome man I've ever met."
