Daily Herald: Hindu community ‘horrified’ by attempted mass shooting at Aurora temple
Anusha Thotakura, Chicago Board of Education Member, District 6A says the Aurora temple is where her family worships. | CAIR-Chicago
Stunned community leaders are voicing concern over growing hate targeting South Asians in the wake of allegations that a Palatine man planned a mass shooting Sunday at a Hindu temple in Aurora.
Among them are U.S. Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, who said he and his family were at the house of worship when authorities allege the 19-year-old man attempted the attack.
“I am horrified that a white supremacist attempted to carry out a mass shooting targeting Indian Americans at the Hindu temple in Aurora where my family worships,” the Schaumburg Democrat said in a statement Thursday.
U.S. Rep Raja Krishnamoorthi said Thursday he was at the Aurora temple Sunday when police say a Palatine man attempted a mass shooting there. (Joe Lewnard/Daily Herald)
When Aurora Alderwoman Shweta Baid heard of the attempted mass shooting at her hometown Hindu temple, her reaction was utter disbelief.
“Absolutely, I was so shocked,” said Baid, who five years ago became the first Indian American to be elected to the Aurora City Council. “I'm also deeply disturbed by the news.”
That’s the pervasive feeling in Aurora’s growing Indian American community.
The Sri Venkateswara Swami Balaji Temple in Aurora, which was the target of an attempted attack on Sunday, according to police. (John Starks/Daily Herald)
Aurora is home to two Hindu temples, and Indian Americans are one of the fastest-growing ethnic communities there. The community marks two Hindu festivals — Navarathri and Diwali — in October and November.
Thousands of worshippers typically gather at Sri Venkateswara Swami Balaji Temple — one of the oldest Hindu temples in the suburbs — for the nine-day Hindu festival of Navarathri that began Sunday, Baid said.
“It is one of the most visited temples in the U.S., too,” Baid said. “That’s what some of the temple officials told me.”
A Hindu priest from the Sri Venkateswara Swami Balaji Temple in Aurora, left, offers prayer to Lord Ganesh, joined by Aurora Alderwoman Shweta Baid and her husband, Virkam, during the Ganesh Chaturthi festival in September 2021. Baid said she was “shocked” to hear about the attempted mass shooting at the temple on Sunday. (City of Aurora)
Baid had intended to visit the temple at 1145 Sullivan Road on Sunday morning with her 17-year-old daughter, Vasundhara, for the start of the Navarathri Mahotsavam celebration. Her plans changed when she was invited to someone’s house for prayers instead.
“It is just crazy what could have happened there,” Baid said. “They've never faced anything like this before. And they have a security guard present all the time. A lot of people visit this temple so we felt very safe (there). I’ve never heard from anybody who have said they haven't felt safe there.”
The temple has expanded considerably in recent years and is a place for gatherings beyond religious festivals. It even draws people from out of state, Baid said.
“It has become really a big place for a lot of community medical camps and educational things,” Baid said. “It is a popular destination.”
A temple official said Thursday that an email blast was sent Thursday reassuring community members that safety measures are being enhanced. Festivities have continued unimpeded and conclude on Tuesday, Oct. 20.
The nonprofit group Hindus for Human Rights issued a statement saying there has been a surge in anti-Indian hate in the United States.
“Hindus deserve to feel safe in our places of worship, and this plot makes it clear that anti-Hindu and anti-Indian hate are escalating to a point of putting our community in danger,” group Executive Director Sravya Tadepalli said. “We are grateful to those who stepped up to stop a horrific incident from occurring.”
Indians routinely are described online as an “invasion,” a demographic threat, or people taking jobs and communities away from “real Americans,” the group said.
The Center for the Study of Organized Hate reported in September that monthly anti-South Asian hate on X increased 240% between January 2024 and June 2026.
Stop AAPI Hate also has documented a sharp rise in anti-South Asian slurs and threats.
Krishnamoorthi said the Aurora case is an example of “how dangerous anti-Indian hatred and white supremacy have become.”
“And we cannot wait until innocent people are killed to take these threats seriously,” he added.
The Consulate General of India issued a statement Thursday thanking the “timely action by law enforcement authorities.”
“We are in touch with members of the Indian diaspora and are monitoring developments,” the statement reads.
Aurora Mayor John Laesch speaks during a CAIR-Chicago news conference Thursday about an attempted attack on an Aurora Hindu temple. (CAIR-Chicago/Facebook)
State and local leaders and representatives from a coalition of interfaith and civil rights organizations came together to condemn the attempted attack and show solidarity at a news conference Thursday afternoon, livestreamed on Facebook.
Aurora Mayor John Laesch said he chose to live in the state’s second-largest city because of its diversity.
“As a city, we've stood together in the past when ICE raided our community last summer,” he said. “People of all colors, backgrounds stood up to come together to fight back and to stand in unity to oppose the oppressive takeover of our streets, and I believe that we'll do it again to stand up and defend the Indian American community, the African American community, the Asian American community, and all those who feel under assault by the current administration in Washington.”
Laesch urged people visiting Aurora to celebrate Navarathri with the Hindu community.
“There's a deep level of irony that this holiday, like many Hindu festivals, celebrates the victory of good over evil, the victory of light over darkness, and America is without question living through (a dark) era of our history,” he said.
State Sen. Ram Villivalam, a Chicago Democrat, a Hindu and the first Indian American elected to the Illinois General Assembly, stressed the urgency of people of different faiths and ethnicity coming together.
“We know that first and foremost, unfortunately, hate does not discriminate,” he said. “We've seen the rise of hate and discrimination from antisemitism to Islamophobia and much more, and so by standing together and rejecting hate and discrimination together, I believe we'll make sure we get to the ultimate goal of eliminating this hate that we're experiencing.”
Among the groups leading the call for solidarity were the Chicago chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy group, and SACRED Acts.
“Whether we're African American, White American, Latino, Asian, Jewish, Muslim, Christian, Hindu, Buddhist, Sikh, we're all united, and that's the promise of this country,” CAIR-Chicago Executive Director Ahmed Rehab said.
Kalman Resnick, with the Jewish Council on Urban Affairs, said his community is no stranger to such hate.
“Jewish Americans should be horrified and are horrified by what occurred with this incident,” he said. “The threat was not just to Indians, not just to Hindus, but to African Americans and Jews. We were called subhuman.”
He said most of his family and friends survived the Holocaust because of good people who protected them.
“We know that the best way to protect ourselves against hatred is to unite with all who are vulnerable to fight hatred and those who support it or spread it,” he added.
Anusha Thotakura, a Chicago Board of Education member and Palatine native, said the Aurora temple is where her family worships.
“So many people are afraid to worship in their houses of worship, whether it's a church, a synagogue, a mosque, a gurdwara, a Hindu temple,” she said. “Those are places where people should be able to find peace and refuge.”