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.
Russia on Tuesday offered another opportunity to surrender for the remaining Ukrainian forces holed up at the Azovstal steel plant in the Black Sea port city of Mariupol. All those present at Azovstal should exit the facility within a two hour deadline without any arms or ammunition on them, the Russian Defense Ministry directed, RT reported.
Undaunted by rain, President Joe Biden and his wife, Jill, kicked off the equivalent of a daylong garden party for some 30,000 kids and adults, including celebrities and costumed characters.
2 Sikh men were attacked and robbed in New York in Queens on Tuesday, the same neighbourhood in the city where an elderly Sikh man was the target of a hate crime less than 2 weeks ago. The attack happened “very close” to the area where Nirmal Singh was punched in an unprovoked assault on April 3.
Officials from the city and the federal government investigating the morning shooting which seemed to be meticulously planned were puzzled by what triggered the attack. Although 33 shots had been fired, no one has died while five of those hit by bullets were reported to be in a critical condition.
A total of 16 people were injured in the incident, six of them from shrapnel, smoke inhalation or other causes, officials said. 5 of the gunshot victims were in critical condition, but miraculously there were no deaths reported.
The shooting occurred at 4.13 p.m. on Sunday evening in the US city's 12200 block of Blakley Avenue, Xinhua news agency quoted the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department as saying in a notification. Two male adult victims were pronounced dead at the scene, the Department said.
