close
close

Sacramento officials investigate hate crime at Hindu temple

The Sacramento County Sheriff's Office is investigating a hate crime at a Hindu temple Wednesday. Officers responded to the call at the BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir on Armstrong Avenue in the Rancho Cordova area. It is just north of the Sacramento Mather Airport. The sign outside the parking lot was covered in graffiti referencing the Indian prime minister. The sheriff's office said the hate crime also involved severed water pipes. “We have our investigators from our gang unit that investigates all hate crimes here,” said Sacramento County Sheriff's Sergeant Amar Gandhi. “We have partners from the state and federal government involved as well. This is not something that can be swept under the rug or made to disappear. If you did this, you will be brought to justice. Save yourself the trouble. Turn yourself in.” The temple held a prayer service Wednesday with elected officials, police officers and community members. “This kind of hate has no place in our city, no place in our community and no place in our neighborhoods. I say we stand united against hate,” said Rancho Cordova Deputy Mayor Siri Pulipati. The graffiti has since been removed and the temple plans to increase security. Officials are now combing through surveillance video to track down the suspects. They say this has also been circulating online and hope to get some leads there as well. Do you have photos or videos of an incident? If so, upload them to KCRA.com/upload. Be sure to include your name and other details so we can appropriately credit you as a source online and on TV. Find more coverage of California's top news stories here | Download our app | Subscribe to our morning newsletter

MATHER, California —

The Sacramento County Sheriff's Office is investigating a hate crime at a Hindu temple on Wednesday.

Deputies responded to the call at the BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir on Armstrong Avenue in the Rancho Cordova area. It is located just north of the Sacramento Mather Airport.

The sign outside the parking lot was covered in graffiti referencing the Indian prime minister. The sheriff's office said the hate crime included cutting water pipes.

“We have our investigators from our gang unit that investigates all hate crimes here,” said Sacramento County Sheriff's Sergeant Amar Gandhi. “We also have partners from the state and federal government involved. This is not something that can be swept under the rug or made to disappear. If you have done this, you will be brought to justice. Save yourself the trouble. Turn yourself in.”

The temple held a prayer service on Wednesday with elected officials, police officers and community members.

“There is no place for this kind of hate in our city, there is no place in our community, there is no place in our neighborhood. I say we stand united against hate,” said Siri Pulipati, deputy mayor of Rancho Cordova.

The graffiti has now been removed and the temple plans to tighten security measures.

Officers are currently reviewing surveillance footage to track down the suspects.

They say that this is also circulating on the Internet and they hope to get some clues there as well.

Do you have photos or videos of an incident? If so, upload them to KCRA.com/upload. Be sure to include your name and other details so we can give you credit online and on TV.

You can find more reports on the most important topics from California here | Download our app | Subscribe to our morning newsletter

You may also like...