Preventing a ‘blood bath’: California investigators arrest 17 after shootings at Sikh events

Authorities in Northern California served 20 search warrants and arrested 17 people on felony charges in the culmination of a two-year investigation that ramped up last month after a shooting at a large celebration at a Sikh house of worship in Sacramento County.

Two men were critically wounded in the March 26 shooting at the Gurdwara Sacramento Sikh Society in the 7600 block of Bradshaw Road in Sacramento County’s Vineyard area. Thousands had gathered there for the temple’s first Nagar Kirtan, a traditional neighborhood celebration and parade.

The investigation, known as Operation Broken Sword, focused on two warring factions of a criminal syndicate involved in a range of illicit activities from firearms dealing to violent crimes. Authorities found and confiscated 41 illegally possessed guns as investigators served the search warrants on Sunday in the coordinated “takedown.”

At a Monday news conference, Sutter County District Attorney Jennifer Dupre announced the arrests that included men suspected in crimes that occurred in Sacramento, Sutter, Yolo, Solano, San Joaquin and Merced counties.

She said the investigation was “ramped up” at last month’s parade in Vineyard, where investigators intercepted two vehicles near the parade route. The prosecutor said authorities arrested seven people found with four handguns and two assault weapons with high-capacity ammunition magazines in those vehicles near the parade route, and the suspects’ intent was to take up position along the parade route and shoot at rivals.

Dupre said investigators were at last month’s Sacramento County parade with the goal of keeping the event “violence-free,” and she’s convinced law enforcement prevented what could’ve been a mass casualty incident.

“If those weapons had gotten into the parade it could have been a blood bath,” Dupre said.

Fistfight leads to shooting

But violence did happen after those suspects were arrested. The Vineyard shooting occurred about 2:30 p.m. after a fight broke out among a group of men, all in their 20s, who were not part of the parade but knew each other.

Two men were involved in the fistfight, the pair exchanging punches. A friend of one of the men shot a friend of the other combatant, according to the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office. Two of the men have been arrested for their suspected involvement in the shooting.

In connection with the guns found in the vehicles near the parade in Sacramento County, eight men were arrested on suspicion of criminal conspiracy to commit attempted murder, including Armandeep Singh; Gurvinder Singh; Nitish Kaushal; Harmandeep Singh; Gurminder Singh Kang; Devender Singh; Gursharn Singh; and Grucharan Singh, according to the Sutter County District Attorney’s Office.

Dupre said members of two criminal syndicates responsible for the escalating violence, known as Minta and the AK-47 Group, were initially part of one group before their splintered in rival factions. The district attorney said the motivation behind the violence is still a “little murky,” but that they basically show up to places and try to shoot each other.

The violence started as fistfights and sword fights at a 2018 Sikh parade in Yuba City where one suspect’s attack with a sword was violent that the sword broke, Dupre said. That’s where the name of the operation originated for law enforcement.

The violence escalated to a shooting at a September 2021 wedding celebration in which a man was shot in the head but survived. Dupre said two people have been arrested on attempted murder charges in connection with the wedding shooting.

Gun violence from Stockton to Sacramento

Since the wedding shooting, there have been 10 additional shootings committed by these warring factions; and total of 11 men have been shot. Dupre said the men wounded in these shootings have been members of the rival groups, including five people shot in August 2022 outside a Sikh temple in Stockton and the two men wounded in the shooting last month in Sacramento County.

Five people were arrested on suspicion of attempted murder and conspiracy charges in connection with a December 2022 shooting in Woodland, Dupre said.

Five men were arrested in connection with the Woodland shooting Sahajpreet Singh, Harkirat Singh, Tirath Ram, Pavittar Singh and Husandeep Singh. Dupre said Pavittar Singh and Husandeep Singh were fugitives wanted for murder charges in India.

Dupre said two other men were arrested on their way to Manteca, where investigators believe they were planning to commit a homicide. Investigators seized three guns during those arrests.

Sacramento County Assistant Sheriff LeeAnneDra Marchese said seven out of the 11 shootings occurred over the past year in Sacramento County. She said the Sheriff’s Office investigation would continue as it focuses on three other possibly related shootings that occurred in 2019 and 2020.

“This operation disrupted these violent criminal organizations and we intend to curb future violence in the county and throughout the Sacramento region,” Marchese said.

500 investigators in Operation Broken Sword

About 500 law enforcement officials have participated in Operation Broken Sword, which included state and federal agencies. The operation resulted in the seizure of 41 firearms when the search warrants were served on Sunday. Dupre said the confiscated guns included AR-15 and Ak-47 assault weapons, at least one machine gun and handguns.

California Attorney General Rob Bonta, who attended Monday’s news conference, said 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. He thanked the law enforcement agencies involved in this operation which took “guns off the street” and put suspected gang members and their associates behind bars.

“This is outstanding law enforcement work,” Bonta said. “It is an example of what we can accomplish when we work together to solve crimes and to prevent crimes.”

Sacramento County District Attorney Thien Ho said the investigation and the charges filed in connection with the violence do not in any way reflect or represent the vibrant Sikh community in the region. He said leaders of the Sikh community in Northern California have condemned this violence again and again.

“We have been able to avert disaster and death, especially in the Sikh shooting that happened in Sacramento County,” Ho told reporters. “Law enforcement has put words into action in this particular case to curb gun violence, gun running and the illegal possession and use of guns.”

The investigation was initiated by Yuba-Sutter Narcotics and Gang Enforcement Task Force. Yuba City Police Chief Brian Baker, speaking on behalf of the task force, said the investigators were intent on ensuring the safety of one of the largest Sikh celebrations hosted every November in Sutter County.

“That draws about a hundred thousand people to our community,” Baker said during the news conference. “And our goal is to make sure that all those folks visiting from across the globe are safe when they come to Sutter County to enjoy their religious freedom.”