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NORTH AMERICAN Newsline JUNE 11, 2021 | The Indian Eye 36
aBinaYa dinesH TaPTeJdeeP sinGH
15-year-old creates Gastro san jose shooting victim
at home app hailed as hero
A aptejdeep Singh, the Sikh rail driver who was among the nine
15-year-old Indian American student Abinaya Dinesh has
created an app called Gastro at Home that offers people
people killed during America’s latest mass shooting incident
with gastrointestinal disorders a way to discreetly access in-
formation and resources. The app which the plans to launch on the Tin San Jose on Wednesday, is being hailed as a hero. Fondly
called Taptej by friends and colleagues, the heroic valor that he
App Store this summer, has won her a place among a very special displayed during his last hours, quickly became the talk of the town
group of young people — 350 Swift Student Challenge winners and tributes and obituaries began pouring in.
from 35 different countries and regions. Singh, who was caught in the firing, died while trying to save
They will be will be among the millions of global attendees at the lives during the unfortunate incident. According to eyewitnesses,
Apple’s 2021 Worldwide Developers Conference when it convenes unmindful of danger to his life, Singh was running around warning
for its second year in an all-virtual format, Apple announced Tuesday. people to hide and take shelter while the shooter was on a rampage
The winners were selected as part of Apple’s annual WWDC until he himself was felled by a bullet.
student challenge, each demonstrating their coding and prob- The Indian American Sikh community not just in California
lem-solving skills by submitting an original Swift playground to but across America is mourning the death of Taptejdeep Singh,
earn a spot. “Every year, we are inspired by the talent and ingenu- a driver at Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA)
ity that we see from our Swift Student Challenge applicants,” said killed during the shooting.
Susan Prescott, Apple’s vice president of Worldwide Developer The Sikh community is in deep grief following the news. Milipitas
Relations and Enterprise and Education Marketing. based Sikh entrepreneur Amrit Singh says, “I am hurt beyond words.”
“This year, we are incredibly proud that more young women ap- California State Assembly member Bill Quirk wrote in a trib-
plied and won than ever before, and we are committed to doing ute, “This is Taptejdeep Singh. He was a husband and father of
everything we can to nurture this progress and reach true gender two. I was honored to represent him in the Assembly as a Union
parity.” City resident. Today his life was cut short. He was one of the VTA
In fact, Dinesh is among three young women who are not only employees killed.”
using technology to solve real-world problems, but are actively in- “People from all walks of life admired the courage with which
volved in teaching the next generation to do the same. “They’re si- he continued to warn others of the shooter in a bid to save lives.”
multaneously blazing their own trail while making sure others have Born in India and raised in Union City, California, leaves his
the tools to follow in their footsteps — all before they’ve graduated wife, three-year-old son, one-year-old daughter, and a grieving Sikh
high school,” Apple said in a media release. community in the San Francisco Bay Area, which described him
Dinesh has helped other young women learn the basics of pro- as a “helpful and caring” man.
gramming and machine learning in her hometown of North Bruns- California State Assembly member Bill Quirk wrote in a trib-
wick, New Jersey. ute, “This is Taptejdeep Singh. He was a husband and father of
Passionate about the intersection of medicine and technology — two. I was honored to represent him in the Assembly as a Union
something that became personal for her last year. “I went to a gas- City resident. Today his life was cut short. He was one of the VTA
troenterologist and he diagnosed me with a pelvic floor disorder,” employees killed.”
said Dinesh, “but then told me nothing about how I was supposed “People from all walks of life admired the courage with which
to get better.” he continued to warn others of the shooter in a bid to save lives.”
In response, Dinesh created Gastro at Home that offers peo- Born in India and raised in Union City, California, leaves his
ple with gastrointestinal disorders a way to access information and wife, three-year-old son, one-year-old daughter, and a grieving Sikh
resources, especially because those types of conditions can some- community in the San Francisco Bay Area, which described him
times be sensitive to talk about. as a “helpful and caring” man.
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