Sikh elder, 70, beaten with golf club in Los Angeles; one arrested

Harpal Singh, a 70-year-old Sikh man, was brutally beaten with a golf club on August 4. The incident occurred when Singh was out for a walk near the Sikh Gurdwara of LA

The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) arrested a suspect in connection with the August 4 assault on an elderly Sikh man outside a gurdwara of LA. Harpal Singh, 70, was attacked with a golf club in North Hollywood, sustaining a skull fracture and potential brain trauma, reported CBS News.

 

The suspect, identified as Bo Richard Vitagliano, 44, was charged with assault with a deadly weapon and is being held on a $1.2 million bail. Surveillance footage led to his arrest a week later near the gurdwara.

 

What happened in North Hollywood?

 

Singh was walking near the intersection of Lankershim Boulevard and Saticoy Street when an argument reportedly broke out with Vitagliano. Witnesses said the two swung metal objects at each other before Singh fell to the ground, where Vitagliano continued the assault. The attacker fled on a bicycle before police arrived.

 

 

LAPD described Vitagliano as unhoused with an extensive criminal history involving assault with a deadly weapon, narcotics, and weapons offences.

 

What did the police say?

 

According to investigators, the assault began over a dispute about Singh’s property and is not being investigated as a hate crime. “Based on the evidence in this matter, North Hollywood detectives believe the assault was not a hate crime,” LAPD said, reported CBS News.

 

What did Harpal's family say?

 

Singh remains unconscious in hospital after undergoing several surgeries. His brother, Gurdial Singh Randhawa, expressed gratitude for the arrest but questioned why the attack was not classified as a hate crime.

 

"Justice must be served, and our local Sikh community must know that the area around our gurdwara—where we gather to worship, learn, connect, eat, and serve others—is safe for all," he told CBS News.