Sikh man, performing 'Gatka' with machete on road, shot dead by police in Los Angeles; video emerges
A 36-year-old Sikh man, identified as Gurpreet Singh, was shot by the Los Angeles Police in the middle of the road while he was performing Gatka, a form of traditional Sikh martial arts with a machete, and refused to comply with the cops.
Released footage of the same, the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) said that he was wielding a machete near Crypto.com Arena in downtown Los Angeles.
He was shot dead after he refused to comply and even tried to attack the police.
The machete was later identified as a "khanda" - a double-edged sword used in Indian martial arts.
Los Angeles police shot dead Gurpreet Singh, 35, after he stopped his car in the middle of an intersection and allegedly swung a machete at people.
— THE SKIN DOCTOR (@theskindoctor13) August 29, 2025
Now compare this with India. Here, mobs can assault police, humiliate them into folding hands, circulate those images as “victory,”… pic.twitter.com/N2Hsyuif9V
The incident took place on July 13, after the LAPD received multiple 911 calls about a man swinging a large blade at passersby at the busy intersection of Figueroa Street and Olympic Boulevard.
The police said that Singh abandoned his vehicle in the middle of the road and even tried to slice his tongue at one point. Officers reportedly gave multiple commands for Singh to drop the weapon.
When the police went near him, he threw a bottle at them before trying to flee the scene.
He drove erratically while the officers pursued him and finally collided with another police vehicle after which he came to a stop near Figueroa and 12th Streets. He then charged at them with the blade. He was then shot.
The police informed, "A machete, two feet in length, was recovered at the scene and booked as evidence."
He was taken to the hospital but succumbed to bullet injuries. No officers or civilians were injured in the incident.
