2 Critically Injured During Crossfire In US Gurdwara, Police Rule Out Hate Crime

The two persons were injured during a shootout between two persons who knew each other, said the police adding there was no hate crime involved.

2 persons have been wounded in a crossfire in a gurdwara in California. (Representational Image)

Source : Getty Images

Two persons have been wounded during a shootout between two men in a gurdwara in California's Sacramento County, said the Sheriff's office, adding that the shooting was not related to hate crime.

Both the victims are in a critical condition, it added. 

According to the Sheriff's office, the shooting occured around 2:30 pm (local time) at the Gurdwara Sacramento Sikh Society temple.

Sacramento County Sheriff's Office spokesperson Amar Gandhi said that three persons were involved in a fight that escalated into a shooting. He said "suspect 2" was down when "suspect 1" shot suspect 2's friend. Suspect 2 then shot suspect 1 before taking off.

"All participants in that altercation seemed to have known each other. This seems to have stemmed from something far before this," Sgt. Gandhi added.

The US | Two people shot at a Gurudwara in Sacramento County, California. Both of the victims are in critical condition. The shooting is not related to a hate crime, it is a shootout between two men who knew each other: Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office

— ANI (@ANI) March 27, 2023

The incident comes amid protests by pro-Khalistanis in the United States and the United Kingdom. A Washington-based Indian journalist, Lalit Jha was physically assaulted and verbally abused in Washington DC while covering a pro-Khalistan protest outside the Indian Embassy on Saturday afternoon. 

In a video shared by Jha, the US correspondent for Press Trust of India, the Khalistani supporters can also be heard using abusive language against the Indian government and PM Narendra Modi.

He was covering the pro-Khalistan protest when he was attacked. However, he was promptly rescued by the US Secret Service and local police.

Last week, the Khalistani sympathisers gathered outside the Indian Consulate in San Francisco and tried to set fire to it. 

The protestors have been staging the demonstrations in support of the radical outfit, Waris Punjab De's chief Amritpal Singh who is on the run from Punjab Police's dragnet since March 18.