Three people fought and two people were shot during a festival at a Sikh temple in Sacramento, California, on Sunday, officials said.
The Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office said a crowd of people were celebrating at the Gurdwara Sacramento Sikh Society Temple on Bradshaw Road when officers responded to reports of fighting and shots fired at 2:30 p.m.
Amar Gandhi, a spokesman for the sheriff’s office, said it was determined that a physical fight broke out between the two men, in which the first suspect shot the second suspect’s friend.
The second suspect, identified as 21-year-old Karman Sandhu, then shot the man who fired first and left the scene.
He was later found, taken into custody and charged with attempted murder, Gandhi said.
Both the men who were shot were hospitalized on Sunday and are in critical condition. Gandhi said that he was expected to survive.
Gandhi said the first suspect, who is in hospital, would be identified after he is medically cleared from the hospital and jailed. Charges for that suspect are still pending.
It is not clear what led to the fight.
Gandhi told Sacramento’s NBC affiliate KCRA that all three men involved in the scuffle, described as in their 20s or 30s, knew each other.
“It seemed very targeted in the fact that it wasn’t some random thing that posed a danger to patrons other than the shooting,” he said. “They were very reckless and luckily no one who was not involved was hurt or hurt.”
The Bradshaw Sikh Society said Sunday saw the first Sikh parade organized by the organization.
“The parade was peaceful and a celebration of faith. It is unfortunate that some misguided people tried to sabotage a cultural and religious event.
“A shooting took place at the gurdwara when the parade was in procession. We hope that the guilty will be punished to the full extent of the law. They were not part of the parade and appeared after the parade had left hours earlier. These displays of violence are against our Sikhism. We apologize for any inconvenience and scare this has caused. Together we are strong and resilient.