17 People Arrested in California's Sikh Community Firing
5 Other accused have not been arrested yet: Jennifer Dupre
CALIFORNIA: Authorities in Northern California said they have arrested more than a dozen people from two warring criminal organizations on Monday. The arrested persons were responsible for the mass shooting and sword attack on the Sikh temple.
Sutter County District Attorney Jennifer Dupre said that the two syndicates were responsible for firing where 11 people were shot, including five at a Sikh temple in Stockton last year and two more at a Sacramento temple last month. None of the victims died. Dupre said all those arrested are part of California's Sikh community and were members of one of two rival groups whose feud was fueled by deep personal ties.
“It started as a group, and a faction broke off, and since then they've been rivals trying to outdo each other. trying to shoot each other," Dupre said, comparing it to the US Civil War "where brothers were fighting with brothers."
Dupre said the arrests were not related to the murders of a Sikh family in the San Joaquin Valley last year, including the killing of an 8-month-old baby, the baby's parents and an uncle.
The officials have arrested Karandeep Singh, Pardeep Singh, Pavitar Singh, Husandeep Singh, Sahajpreet Singh, Harkirat Singh, Tirth Ram, Dharamvir Singh, Jobanjit Singh, Gurvinder Singh, Nitish Kaushal, Gurminder Singh Kang, Davinder Singh, Karambir Gill, Rajiv, Ranjan, Jobanpreet. Singh and Singh Dhesi.
Dupre said that five other persons - Amandeep Singh, Harmandeep Singh, Gursharan Singh, Gurcharan Singh and Jaskaran Singh - have not been arrested yet. Dupre said the accused are yet to appear in court. It is not clear if they still have lawyers who can speak on their behalf.