Tracy Police Arrest Suspect In Fatal Stabbing Of Sikh Man

Updated 4:04 p.m.

TRACY, Calif. (AP) — Police in Northern California say they have arrested a man suspected in the stabbing and killing of a Sikh man who was on nighttime walk at a Northern California park.

The Tracy Police Department says officers arrested 21-year-old Anthony Kreiter-Rhoads at his Tracy home Saturday in the killing of 62-year-old Parmjit Singh.

The killing came a month after another Sikh man was attacked in a neighboring community.

Parmjit Singh was wearing his traditional turban when he was fatally stabbed Aug. 25 in Gretchen Talley Park in Tracy.

Police have not determined a motive for the attack but said they were looking into all possibilities.

Kalin Kipling-Mojaddedi with the Council on American-Islamic Relations in Sacramento says she's glad someone's been arrested.

"We don't know the exact circumstances," she said. "They haven't announced that it's a hate crime, but it's a high possibility and we've seen these hate crimes rising. So it puts all marginalized communities on edge."

Kipling-Mojaddedi says this case was felt statewide.

"It's sort of like the rug being ripped out from under you when these incidents happen because suddenly nothing's safe," she said. "He was going for a walk in his own neighborhood."

Relatives say Singh came to the United States three years ago from India to stay with family in Tracy. He had two children and three grandchildren.

CapRadio's Steve Milne contributed to this report.