What to expect when you provide safe haven to Khalistani elements? US Police arrest 17 men with heavy ammunition in California gurdwara shootings

Seventeen people have been arrested by police in the US state of California in connection with shootings in gurdwaras at Sacramento, Stockton and other locations, according to the State Attorney General.

 

Police conducted a series of raids at more than 20 places in northern California on Sunday and seized weapons such as an AK-47, one machine gun and handguns. The 17 arrests made were mostly members of the local Sikh community, California Attorney General Rob Bonta, Yuba City Police Chief Brian Baker, and Sutter County District Attorney Jennifer Dupré said at a press conference.

 

 

Two of the 17 people arrested belonged to the mafia and are wanted in many murder cases in India. The arrested accused belong to rival criminal syndicates who are allegedly responsible for several violent crimes and shootings, including five attempted murder incidents in Sutter, Sacramento, San Joaquin, Solano, Yolo, and Merced counties, the California Attorney General said.

 

 

Members of these criminal syndicates allegedly had a hand in a mass shooting at a Stockton Sikh temple on August 27, 2022 and, another shooting at a Sacramento Sikh temple on March 23 this year. A press release stated that police were able to thwart the possibility of two additional shootings.

 

 

"Today, California is safer thanks to collaboration, determination, and swift action by DOJ agents and our law enforcement partners in Sutter County," Bonta said.

 

"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," he said.

 

Dupre said, "An investigation of this magnitude requires a tremendous amount of time and effort, and especially a lot of personnel."