Police arrest 17 Sikhs for California gurdwara shootings
Darpan News Desk IANS, 18 Apr, 2023 01:31 PM
New York, April 18 (IANS) Police have arrested 17 Sikh men from rival criminal syndicates for their alleged involvement in mass shootings across Northern California, including Sikh temples in Stockton and Sacramento, which occurred between 2022 and 2023.
In a joint law enforcement operation, 41 firearms were seized from suspects responsible for numerous violent crimes and shootings, including five attempted murders, in Sutter, Sacramento, San Joaquin, Solano, Yolo, and Merced counties.
The joint law enforcement effort culminated on Monday in a large-scale operation with agents executing search warrants at 20 locations, California Attorney General Rob Bonta, Yuba City Police Chief Brian Baker, and Sutter County District Attorney Jennifer Dupre announced.
Dupre said two syndicates, mostly members of the local Sikh community, were responsible for multiple shootings where 11 people were shot, including five people at a Sikh temple in Stockton in August 2022 and two at a temple in Sacramento on March 23, 2023.
According to ABC News, Karandeep Singh, Pardeep Singh, Pavittar Singh, Husandeep Singh, Sahajpreet Singh, Harkirat Singh, Tirath Ram, Dharamvir Singh, Jobanjit Singh, Gurvinder Singh, Nitish Kaushal, Gurminder Singh Kang, Devender Singh, Karambir Gill, Rajeev Ranjan, Jobanpreet Singh and Singh Dhesi, were arrested for felony.
Police are yet to arrest Amandeep Singh, Harmandeep Singh, Gursharn Singh, Grucharan Singh and Jaskaran Singh, Dupre told ABC News, adding that the feud among groups "was fueled by intense personal connections".
"No family should ever have to worry about drive-by shootings or other forms of gun violence in the neighbourhoods where their children live and play. As a result of this joint law enforcement effort, we're taking guns off the street and putting suspected gang members and their associates behind bars," California Attorney General Rob Bonta said in a press release.
During the investigation, which began in February 2023, the law enforcement was able to prevent two additional shootings from occurring.
An 18-year-old gunman opened fire Tuesday at a Texas elementary school, killing 14 children, one teacher and injuring others, Gov. Greg Abbott said, and the gunman was dead. It was the deadliest shooting at a U.S. grade school since the shocking attack in Sandy Hook, Connecticut, almost a decade ago.
Cases of the smallpox-related disease have previously been seen only among people with links to central and West Africa. But in the past week, Britain, Spain, Portugal, Italy, U.S., Sweden and Canada all reported infections, mostly in young men who hadn’t previously traveled to Africa.
Police found the victim off the side of a road with apparent gunshot wounds. The man died from his injuries at the scene and his identity is being withheld until his next of kin is notified, the police said.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said during a news briefing that Pfizer's treatment was still too expensive. He noted that most countries in Latin America had no access to Pfizer’s drug, Paxlovid , which has been shown to cut the risk of COVID-19 hospitalization or death by up to 90%.
Paxlovid has become the go-to option against COVID-19 because of its at-home convenience and impressive results in heading off severe disease. The U.S. government has spent more than $10 billion to purchase enough pills to treat 20 million people.
About two dozen states reported suspected cases after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention put out a call for doctors to be on the lookout for surprising cases of hepatitis. The cases date back to late October in children under 10. So far, only nine cases in Alabama have been confirmed.
