Gunmen beaten at Sikh sports tourney in California
1 Sep 2008, 1513 Hrs

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Washington, Sep.1 (ANI): Spectators at a Sikh sports tournament in California thrashed two gunmen with cricket bats and field hockey sticks after the pair fatally shot a man and injured another.

The brazen shootings happened at about 1.20 p.m. California time Sunday as the victims were watching athletic events at the Sacramento Sikh Society Sports Complex, next to the society's temple, or Gurdwara Sahib, according to sheriff's deputies.

The assault did not appear to be related to any conflict over the sporting events, authorities said, and neither the assailants nor the victims were participants in the tournament.

The gunmen apparently planned to find their targets at the event, sheriff's spokesman Sergeant Tim Curran said.

Deputies identified the dead man as Parmjit Pamma Singh, a 26-year-old father of two from Bay Point, near Pittsburg, California.

He was pronounced dead at the scene.

The other victim, 38, was sent to the University of California Davis Medical Centre in serious condition.

The assault prompted several nearby spectators to turn on the gunmen with sports equipment at hand. One of the assailants got away while the other was beaten and held by spectators until deputies arrived, Curran said.

Deputies recovered two handguns but found few witnesses to the shootings.

Hundreds of people from the Sacramento area, the San Francisco Bay Area, Arizona and western Canada attended the event, the second annual Gurmukh Singh Johal Memorial Tournament, sponsored by the Sacramento Sikh Society. (ANI)