One Dead, One Wounded in Sikh Temple Shooting

September 2nd, 2008 Source: www.news

SACRAMENTO, CA - One man was killed and another was wounded after what authorities called a targeted shooting outside a Sacramento Sikh temple Sunday afternoon.

Bystanders were able to subdue one of the gunmen, while a second was able to escape, a Sacramento County sheriff's spokesman said.

The shooting happened near the Sacramento Sikh Society building at 7676 Bradshaw Road just before 1:30 p.m. Sunday, Sacramento County sheriff's Sgt. Tim Curran said.

Curran said the victims were attending a regional Sikh sports tournament going on next to the temple, when the gunmen approached and fired several shots.

One of the victims died at the scene. A second, identified only as a 38-year-old man, was shot in the leg. He was taken to a nearby hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, Curran said. The names of the victims were not released pending family notification.

Witnesses said spectators and athletes near the shooting were able to rush and grab one of the gunmen, beat him into submission before officers arrived.

"I just saw people running and shooting. I saw (the crowd) beating the guy they caught," witness Sean Virk said.

"The crowd was armed with cricket bats and field hockey sticks," Curran said. "(The crowd) didn't hold back the fact that they hit him."

Curran said the gunman was hospitalized with several blunt force injuries and was expected to be charged upon his release.

The second gunman was able to escape the scene. Investigators were compiling a description of the attacker.

Investigators said a previous conflict between the victims and the gunmen led to the shooting, Curran said. There was no indication the shooting was gang-related.

Curran said investigators were seeking a person who may have vital information to the case.

Amandeep Dhami, 25, of Elk Grove was seen leaving the scene of the shooting and was being sought by deputies for questioning in the case. 

News10/KXTV - Copyright 2008 / All Rights Reserved

Comments

September 4, 2008 - 6:03am — Lassi

Rights without responsibility

Congratulations! Another life taken just because Americans have the right to have weapons. And this will never end...
September 3, 2008 - 2:42pm — kaabzaub

We are a local Indian

We are a local Indian Educational Group attempting to provide Indian educational information and scholarships to the young Indian community. We worked very hard to get sponsors and secure a facility for the educational event. Due to the recent shooting which occurred at the Sikh Sports Tournament held at the Sacramento Sikh Society Gurdwara on Bradshaw in Sacramento, all of our sponsors and the facility have withdrawn from our event. They stated “that the Indian community is unsafe and irresponsible. We do not want to run the risk of losing our investments and facility therefore we are being selective of the people we bring in.” As well as when the crowd of spectators caught one of the suspects and then started “violently assaulting the suspect with sports equipment. How unruly and chaotic the Indian mob is when they use violence to solve violence.” The sponsors and facility owners also referred to a recent drug bust in the Indian community (even though this person was identified as Sikh Punjabi) as another example of “bad behavior of the Indian community.” It is difficult to get sponsorship from the Indian community. Of all the Indian shops, merchants, business owners, Gudwaras, Temples, and multi-millionaires we spoke with, none were interested in sponsoring an educational event. Very few Indian people were willing to return phone calls or speak to us about using their money to sponsor an educational event. But to say the least, a party or sports event, then the community is willing to run the risk of gaining a bad reputation. The publicity in which the Sikh Punjabi population have obtained is an appalling example in which is then reflected upon the rest of the Indian community. As people tend to clump one crowd of people together and use prejudice. Especially, when sponsors and facility owners do not know the difference between Punjabi and Indian. Even after explaining the difference, they still just say “Indian”. With this, we want to share that it is a tragedy in which the Indian community have to face. This is unfair for us, those who are honestly devoting effort to improve and promote the positives of the Indian community. We are disappointed to have shown such dedication and effort in an educational event to achieve nothing due to these unfortunate circumstances.
September 4, 2008 - 2:28am — harmansandhu

kaabzaub

Although it is unfortunate that your educational plans were put on hold, the more unfortunate part is your post. I am disgusted beyond belief. Not once did you mention the violence that has been taking place in our Gurduwara's or within our youth. Not once did you show sympathy for the families or people effected by Sundays shootings. Yet you took the time out to complain about how your plans were ruined and how people perceive us. How does one base his or her judgment on a society as a whole from one incident and the actions of a couple of people? You should be looking in a forward direction trying to get your plan in motion with new sponsors and a new facility and be glad to rid of such prejudice associates. How many different culture groups that have a greater population have to face obstacles of being "clumped together"? would the same sponsors and facility owner withdraw if the minority group was African American? or Hispanic? I can guarantee they would not. So perhaps you should try to educate them before you complain about your loss of opportunity to educate. I personally witnessed Sundays tragedy as i was participating in the games while this happened. I have read numerous articles on this occurrence and people are praising our culture for going after the killer, labeling us as a "brave" and "courageous" culture. Yet you point out one negative view point? What else was the mob to do? let both shooters get away? the shooter was running through field attempting to get away. Ask your sponsors if their family/friend got shot and they apprehended the shooter would they calmly hold him until the police arrived? They Admitted to the police of roughing up the suspect and the police took no action. So perhaps you need to get your values corrected and perhaps educate yourself before you attempt to educate others. Violence at our Temples is a reoccurring theme, and we need to find ways to prevent it while allowing our youth to safely participate in positive events. Once again, it is unfortunate that your sponsors bailed on you, but the right approach would be to express anger towards the discrimination you have faced from these sponsors and facility owner(s). There are plenty of people in the Indian community who are willing to sponsor for any type of good cause whether it be educational or leisure purposes. Perhaps you have not tried hard enough. And this is a huge blow and heart break for our community, and although i do believe your doing a great service, i find your post very selfish and disrespectful. I really do hope you may continue your program and help out our community. But please do not use tragic events to whine and pout about your losses, there are bigger problems on our hands.

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