SACRAMENTO, April 11 (UPI) -- California police say a reward has been offered for information in the case of the killing of an elderly Sikh man and the wounding of another.
Surinder Singh, 65, and Gurmej Atwal, 78, were on their usual afternoon walk in the Sacramento suburb of Elk Grove last month when they were shot near a bus shelter overlooking a highway where they often stopped to rest, the Los Angeles Times reported Monday.
Singh died at the scene and Atwal is still in critical condition, the newspaper said.
Police say they are treating it as a possible hate crime, citing similar instances that have occurred since the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks in which Sikhs have been mistaken for Muslims and randomly attacked.
The FBI is assisting in the investigation, and Elk Grove has increased patrols where Sikh elders often stroll.
Many, like Singh and Atwal, wear turbans over their uncut hair to signify Sikh devotion to religious faith and belief in generosity to strangers, the Times reported.
When Sikhs are attacked for wearing the turban, "it strikes at the heart of who we are as a people," said Amar Shergill, 40, a Sacramento Sikh civil rights activist and attorney.
