Neighbours remember Avtar Singh family
13 Jun 2012 1:22 AM GMT
A pall of gloom descended upon the quiet neighbourhood where the family of troubled former Indian Army officer Avtar Singh lived until last week, as a shocked community came together to remember what they called was an affable family.
As many as 200 people came together for a candle light vigil for the victims of Singh's killing spree, even as the eldest child of the family struggled for his life at a hospital.
Candles were lit and people left flowers with posters and hand-written notes remembering the family and expressing their loss and pain, as the windows were boarded shut at the Singh home where the tragedy unfolded on Saturday.
Barbara Childers, the next-door neighbour to the family spoke at the vigil of how wonderful the family had been to her, according to local paper Fresnobee.
‘They were always very friendly and accommodating,’ Childers said in the Californian town of Selma.
At the memorial vigil, footage of the two older Singh sons was shown, accompanied by music.
Childers said the two older sons often mowed her lawn: ‘They never took money from me, even when I offered to pay them,’ she was quoted as saying.
Another neighbour Diana Diaz said she often spoke with Singh's wife and her two young daughters would play outside with the five-year-old youngest child who was also killed.
She said Singh's wife, whom she called Vanessa, told Diaz that her husband's trucking business was failing and that they were encountering financial struggles.
A day after Singh killed his wife and two children - 5 and 15 - and left the eldest 17-year-old grievously injured, several classmates of the two older boys ran 5 miles from their high school to the family's house.
‘Chris was smart, funny and very motivated. He was very easy to get along with,’ said 15-year-old Alexis Galindo, the classmate of the eldest boy.
Galindo said the boys did tell her that their father kept several weapons in the house, but they never mentioned any problems at home.
Another classmate Christopher Cano said he had last spoken to Chris on Friday night, a day before the tragedy, at a movie theater.
As many as 200 people came together for a candle light vigil for the victims of Singh's killing spree, even as the eldest child of the family struggled for his life at a hospital.
Candles were lit and people left flowers with posters and hand-written notes remembering the family and expressing their loss and pain, as the windows were boarded shut at the Singh home where the tragedy unfolded on Saturday.
Barbara Childers, the next-door neighbour to the family spoke at the vigil of how wonderful the family had been to her, according to local paper Fresnobee.
‘They were always very friendly and accommodating,’ Childers said in the Californian town of Selma.
At the memorial vigil, footage of the two older Singh sons was shown, accompanied by music.
Childers said the two older sons often mowed her lawn: ‘They never took money from me, even when I offered to pay them,’ she was quoted as saying.
Another neighbour Diana Diaz said she often spoke with Singh's wife and her two young daughters would play outside with the five-year-old youngest child who was also killed.
She said Singh's wife, whom she called Vanessa, told Diaz that her husband's trucking business was failing and that they were encountering financial struggles.
A day after Singh killed his wife and two children - 5 and 15 - and left the eldest 17-year-old grievously injured, several classmates of the two older boys ran 5 miles from their high school to the family's house.
‘Chris was smart, funny and very motivated. He was very easy to get along with,’ said 15-year-old Alexis Galindo, the classmate of the eldest boy.
Galindo said the boys did tell her that their father kept several weapons in the house, but they never mentioned any problems at home.
Another classmate Christopher Cano said he had last spoken to Chris on Friday night, a day before the tragedy, at a movie theater.
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