17 arrested, mostly Sikh with machine gun, AK-47 in US Gurdwara Firing Case
Washington: California police in the US have arrested 17 people in connection with shootings at gurdwaras and other places in Stockton and Sacramento and recovered weapons such as AK-47 rifles, pistols and machine guns.
The arrests were made during raids at more than 20 locations. California Attorney General Rob Bonta, Yuba City Police Chief Brian Baker and Sutter County District Attorney Jennifer Dupre said on Monday said that 17 people, most of them members of the local Sikh community, were arrested during a major search warrant operation at 20 locations in Northern California on Sunday.
Dupre told a press conference that the two arrested persons are members of the mafia and are “wanted in several murder cases” in India.
California’s attorney general said the arrested people are part of an anti-criminal group and are allegedly involved in violent incidents and shootings, including five counts of attempted murder in The Starr, Sacramento, San Joaquin, Solano, Yolo and Merced Counties.
Members of these groups were allegedly involved in the shooting at a gurdwara in Stockton on August 27, 2022, and another gurdwara in Sacramento on March 23, 2023. According to a press release, during the investigation, law enforcement officials managed to prevent incidents of firing at two other places.
