A cabbie was held up at gunpoint and his taxi was stolen last night in Sacramento.
The taxi driver picked up what he thought was a possible fare around midnight at a shopping complex near Northgate Boulevard and San Juan Road and was forced to begin driving, Sacramento police said.
At gunpoint, the young man robbed the driver. He then forced the cabbie to drive to Cottage Way and Howe Avenue where the driver was forced out of his taxi.
The robber then drove off with the cab, which was found a few blocks away at El Camino Avenue and Connie Drive. The cab was empty and the robber got away.
The cabbie was a member of the Sikh faith but police said the robber did not make any comment about the taxi driver's appearance or religion. Police do not believe there was any religious hate motivation associated with the crime.
A Natomas man was sentenced last month to 13 years in state prison for his attack on a Sikh taxi driver in West Sacramento in November.
The attacker pleaded no contest to a felony charge and admitted that his attack on a cab driver was a hate crime.
Earlier this year, two Sikh men died after being shot during a walk along an Elk Grove street. Their assailant has not been found.
Police and community members have raised the specter that the men were targeted because they were Sikh, a religion whose members have been mistaken for Muslims since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
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