Indian journalist gunned down outside her home

Unidentified relatives of senior journalist Gauri Lankesh cry at her residence in Bangalore, India, Tuesday, Sept. 5, 2017. Police say a senior Indian journalist was fatally shot by unidentified attackers in the southern Indian city of Bangalore. Police say the assailants pumped bullets into Gauri Lankesh on Tuesday as she left her car after reaching her home in Bangalore, the Karnataka state capital. The attackers fled the scene. (AP Photo) Unidentified relatives of senior journalist Gauri Lankesh cry at her residence in Bangalore, India, Tuesday, Sept. 5, 2017. Police say a senior Indian journalist was fatally shot by unidentified attackers in the southern Indian city of Bangalore. Police say the assailants pumped bullets into Gauri Lankesh on Tuesday as she left her car after reaching her home in Bangalore, the Karnataka state capital. The attackers fled the scene. (AP Photo)

By Associated Press September 5, 2017 2 min read

BANGALORE, India (AP) – An Indian journalist was gunned down outside her home the southern city of Bangalore – the latest in a string of deadly attacks targeting journalists or outspoken critics of religious superstition and extreme Hindu politics.

The assailants fled on a motorcycle after spraying a hail of bullets at Gauri Lankesh on Tuesday night as she was leaving her car outside her home in the Karnataka state capital.

Police said they were searching for leads, but that it was too early to say who killed her. Top police officer R.K. Dutta said he had met Lankesh recently, but that she did not mention any threat to her life.

Members of Indian journalism associations expressed outrage and said they would protest Wednesday afternoon in New Delhi.

“The silencing of a journalist in this manner has dangerous portents for democracy,” the Indian Women’s Press Corps said in a statement.