New York: A Sikh man has been stabbed to death at his store in New Jersey, the third incident targeting the community in the US in three weeks.

Terlok Singh was found dead by his cousin on Thursday in his store with an apparent stab wound in the chest.

The Essex county prosecutor's office is calling the incident a homicide, according to a report in ABC7NY. The motive behind the killing was not immediately known.

Terlok, described as a "very kind person", is survived by his wife and children who live in India. He ran the store to support his family.

His family closed the store as a deeply saddened community watched in horror.

The news report said Terlok had been running the store for at least six years and a neighbour said he should not have had to worry about being attacked in his work place.

Civil rights organisation Sikh Coalition posted on Facebook condolences to Terlok's family, friends and the local community.

Simran Jeet Singh, a visiting scholar at New York University's Center for Religion and Media and a senior religion fellow for the Sikh Coalition, tweeted about Terlok's death, saying "this is the third attack on a Sikh in the last three weeks. So tired of all this sadness."

On August 6 at Manteca in California, 71-year-old Sahib Singh was brutally attacked by Tyrone McAllister and a juvenile when the elderly man had gone for a morning walk. McAllister, who is the son of a local police chief, and the juvenile were charged with attempted robbery, elder abuse and assault with a deadly weapon.

On July 31, 50-year-old Surjit Malhi was attacked while he was putting up campaign signs in support of incumbent Republican Congressman Jeff Denham and other local Republican candidates.

While beating Malhi, the attackers had yelled: "Go back to your country!" They had spray-painted the same message, along with hate symbols, on Malhi's truck. PTI