Authorities have made 17 felony arrests in connection with a number of shootings at Sikh temples in Sacramento and Stockton, California, CBS News Bay Area reports.
State Attorney General Rob Bonta said multiple agencies launched a coordinated investigation in February 2023. They focused on rival crime groups in the Northern California area.
According to KCRA 3, the violence began in 2018 with fistfights and sword attacks at a Sikh parade. The first shooting occurred in September 2021 at a wedding in Yuba City. Authorities say that since then the groups involved have been responsible for 10 shootings, with 11 men being shot in total.
The Attorney General’s Office says the investigation prevented two shootings and led to the seizure of 41 firearms, FOX 40 reports.
Sutter County District Attorney Jennifer Dupré said at a press conference that the two rival groups involved used to be a part of a singular group. Victims from the temple shootings in Sacramento and Stockton were members of the groups.
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“Today, California is safer thanks to collaboration, determination, and swift action by DOJ agents and our law enforcement partners in Sutter County,” Attorney General Rob Bonta said in a statement, according to KCRA 3. “No family should ever have to worry about drive-by shootings or other forms of gun violence in the neighborhoods 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.”
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