Yesterday, volunteers from the Sikh and Elk Grove, California (a suburb of Sacramento) communities gathered at the scene of the unsolved murders of Surinder Singh and Gurmej Atwal, two elderly Sikh friends who were out on their routine afternoon walk in March of this year.  Both men were shot in a drive-by shooting in broad daylight and were killed.  Their murders – suspected as a hate crime –  have not been solved.

Yesterday’s gathering was a “Day of Action” as volunteers – joined by Elk Grove Mayor Steve Detrick, Elk Grove Councilmember Sophia Scherman, Elk Grove Police Department Captain Bryan Noblett, and West Sacramento Gurdwara representative Darshan Mundy – distributed reward bulletins around the community in the hope that increased awareness of the crime will generate in new leads. According to the press release distributed today:

Volunteers went to local stores and neighborhoods to post reward bulletins. In the process, the group raised awareness regarding the crimes. “Somewhere, there is a witness with information that can help bring justice for the victims’ families and the community,” said Amar Shergill, local attorney and community organizer.

The community has put together an award of $57,000 for information that leads to the arrest of the killer(s).

In addition, the Elk Grove police department has also appealed to California Governor Jerry Brown for an additional reward offering of $50,000 to motivate anyone with knowledge of this crime to step forward:

On August 22, 2011, the Elk Grove Police Department sent a letter to Governor Brown requesting a Governor’s Reward of $50,000 pursuant to California Penal Code Section 1547. The victims’ families and a broad coalition of community groups have also written letters to the Governor requesting that he grant the request of the Elk Grove Police Department. There has been no response from Governor Brown. “It is apparent from the outpouring of support that these murders have struck at the heart of the community,” stated [local attorney and community organizer Amar Shergill]. “We call upon the Governor to add to the award in an effort to motivate witnesses and bring justice to the victims’ families.”

While that appeal to the Governor continues, the organizers of the Day of Action and local law enforcement are still requesting any information that would help solve this crime:

Anonymous tips may be made to Crime Alerts:

• Call 916-443-HELP (443-4357)
• Text 274637 (CRIMES) SACTIP
• Visit http://www.CrimeAlert.org, click on the Submit a Webtip tab

Individuals wishing to contribute funds to the rewards should contact Lynne Brown, Crime Alerts, crimepreventionpros@gmail.com

For local media coverage of the Day of Action, you can view reports at: Fox News, KCRA, Sacramento Bee (Blog), Elk Grove Patch, Sacramento Bee (Article).

(Source material for this post was provided by Amar Shergill)