Two people were critically injured when shots were fired during a parade at a Sikh temple in Sacramento, the state capital of California, authorities said. The shooting was reported at around 2.30 p.m. on Sunday at the Gurdwara Sacramento Sikh Society near Bradshaw Road and Gerber Road in Sacramento County, ABC10 News reported.
Sacramento County Sheriff's Office spokesperson Amar Gandhi said three people were involved in a fight that resulted in 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 told ABC 10 News.
He further said both people shot are expected to survive and one will likely be in custody. Their nationality remains unknown. Stating that investigations into the incident are on, Gandhi said the suspect who took off whas also been taken into custody.
According to the Sacramento County Department of Transportation, the Sacramento Sikh Society was hosting a Nagar Kirtan Parade that closed roads in the area for six hours. "I am disheartened to learn that since there has been a shooting & several individuals were wounded," Sacramento City council member Lisa Kaplan wrote on Twitter."
It breaks my heart that violence has destroyed a celebratory occasion. My prayers are w those wounded - may they have a full recovery. We must do more than pray & remove guns from our streets - so every celebration is that - all celebration w/o violence," she wrote.
Two in three California residents worry about becoming a victim of gun violence in the wake of the recent spike in mass shootings both in the state and around the US, according to a poll.
Conducted by the Institute of Governmental Studies (IGS) at the University of California, Berkeley, the poll revealed that about 63 per cent of the registered voters in the most populous US state -- home to around 40 million residents -- express worries that they or someone close to them could become the victim of gun violence.
In January, California witnessed back-to-back mass shootings. As of February, the Gun Violence Archive has counted 80 mass shootings in the US this year. Seven of them involved four or more fatalities.