Police in Georgia take action after viral video shows Indian student killed by hammer

An Indian student was brutally killed with repeated blows on the head from a hammer by a homeless man, inside a store in Lithonia, Georgia.

A video of the incident that has gone viral on social media but the date of the incident cannot be confirmed.

A person familiar with the case, told ANI, that police authorities acted firmly on the visual evidence of the case and arrests were made promptly.

The mortal remains of the victim, being an Indian citizen, were sent back to Vivek’s family in India on the January 24, the person added.

According to a yahoonews report Jan. 18, Saini, an MBA student, was 25 years old, and the incident took place at the Chevron Food Mart at the intersection of Snapfinger and Cleveland Road.

Police have identified 53-year-old Julian Faulkner as the alleged perpetrator, and employees of the gas station said they had allowed Faulkner in and out of the store over the two days before the attack, when he came and asked for items.

“He asked us for chips, and coke. We gave him everything including the water,” one of the employees at the Chevron station told Yahoonews. On that fateful night, Saini reportedly asked Faulkner to leave or he would call the cops.  “Police said as Saini left to go home, Faulkner attacked him with a hammer,” Yahoonews reported.

Faulkner was still standing over Saini when police arrived and told him to drop the hammer, the news report said.

The Consulate General of India in Atlanta expressed profound anguish over the “brutal attack” condemning it as a heinous act in the “strongest terms.”

According to a statement released by the Consulate General of India in Atlanta, noted that the US authorities had arrested the accused and were actively investigating the case. The consulate is closely monitoring the developments and ensuring that justice is served, it said.
A post by the Indian Mission in Atlanta on X read, “We are deeply anguished by the terrifying, brutal, & heinous incident that led to the death of Indian National/student Mr Vivek Saini & condemns the attack in the strongest terms. It is understood that the US authorities have arrested the accused & are investigating the case.”

Immediate action was taken by the Consulate General of India in Atlanta, as they promptly got in touch with Saini’s family right after the incident occurred. The consulate has been providing continuous consular assistance to the family of the deceased and remains in close contact with the grieving family to offer support during this difficult time.

The Consulate General’s post concluded, “The Consulate got in touch with the family of Mr Saini immediately after the incident, provided all consular assistance in sending the mortal remains back to India, and remains in touch with the family.”