Wisconsin Shooting Hits Hard With Local Sikh Communities

LODI (CBS13) - The Sikh temple shooting in Wisconsin Sunday is hitting the Sikh community in Northern California hard.

Monday the Sikh temple in Lodi held a vigil for the six victims of that shooting.

Members also wanted to express their gratitude to the various law enforcement for their quick response.
They say their thoughts and prayers go out to the families of those killed and injured. Members say Monday's vigil helps to expresses their unity as a community.

The mass shooting also hits close to home for in Elk Grove. Last year two elderly Sikh men were gunned down while on a walk. Their murders remain unsolved.

Police still don't have enough information to call the murder a hate crime. But family members believe they were targeted solely on how they were dressed.

"We had nothing to do with 9/11 but still people think we do," said Kamaljit Atwal, whose father was one of the men killed. "We are peace-loving people."

The Sikh religion is based on peace and unity, which is something Atwal has managed to hold onto despite having no answers in his own father's death.

"We should not hate," he said.

He says he will continue to pray for the victims in Wisconsin and that someone who knows something about his father's death will come forward.

"The rule of nature is that you cannot hide," he said. "You can run but you cannot hide."