Reward in Elk Grove Sikh's homicide rises to $42,000

The reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of those responsible for shooting two turbaned Sikh men on their afternoon stroll through Elk Grove on Friday is now more than $42,000.

The Jewish Community Relations Council, the Jewish Federation of the Sacramento Region and area synagogues have raised more than $10,000 to add to the reward, said Rabbi Mona Alfi of Congregation B'nai Israel.

The Jewish community remembers how Sikhs and Sacramentans of diverse faiths stood with them after the firebombing of three Sacramento area synagogues, including B'nai Israel, in 1999, Alfi said.

An interfaith prayer vigil will be held at 6 p.m. Friday, at the intersection of East Stockon Boulevard and Geneva Pointe Drive, where Surinder Singh, 65, was shot to death and Gurmej Atwal, 78, was critically wounded. His condition was upgraded from critical to serious, a hospital spokeswoman said.

Singh's funeral will be held at North Sacramento Funeral Home, 725 El Camino Ave., at 10 a.m. Saturday and is open to the public, said Amar Shergill, of the South Asian Culture & Community Political Action Committee. Others who would like to contribute to the reward can contact amar@shergilllawfirm.com.

Anyone who has seen or heard anything that might pertain to the case should call Crime Alert at (916) 443-4357 or the Elk Grove Police Department at (916) 714-5115.

The Elk Grove Police Department set up a checkpoint on East Stockton Boulevard on Tuesday to try to jar commuters' memories in case they were driving by at the time of the shooting around 4:25 p.m. Friday. "We got some limited information, nothing ground-shaking," said police spokesman Chris Trim.

John Boisa, a spokesman for Sacramento's Jewish community, said "our prayers and sympathies are with the families of Mr. Singh and Mr. Atwal, and the entire Sikh community during this time of grieving and loss.

"While it may be the case that the perpetrators imagined their victims to be Muslims," Boisa said, "we must denounce all hate crimes in the strongest terms, no matter who the intended victims are."

The Sacramento region has 30,000 Jews across an eight-county area, including 21 regional synagogues serving Orthodox, Modern Orthodox, Conservative, Reform and Reconstructionist members.

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