SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Friday offered a $50,000 reward for information leading to an arrest and conviction in the unsolved 2011 murders of two Sikh grandfathers in Elk Grove that have haunted the community for 15 years.

Gurmej Singh Atwal and Surinder Singh were shot March 4, 2011, during an afternoon walk along East Stockton Boulevard. No arrests have been made in the killings.

Investigators said a gunman in a gold or brown pickup truck pulled alongside 65-year-old Singh and his friend, 78-year-old Atwal, on East Stockton Boulevard near Geneva Point Drive and opened fire with a semiautomatic handgun.

Singh died at the scene. Atwal was seriously wounded in the attack and died at a hospital six weeks later. The killings, investigated as a possible hate crime, drew national attention. Family and friends believed the men, who wore long beards and turbans, were targeted because the gunman thought they were Muslim.

Religious groups raised more than $60,000 in reward money for information leading to an arrest, but the case remained unsolved.

Elk Grove Mayor Bobbie Singh-Allen and police officials hope the governor’s reward will generate new leads in the killings.

“I am grateful to the governor for this reward,” Singh-Allen said Friday. “The murders of Gurmej Atwal and Surinder Singh continue to haunt our community. I am hoping that the reward and continued attention on this case will lead to an arrest.”

“This is a case that we all think about and hope that we can bring closure to the community,” Elk Grove police Sgt. Jason Jimenez, a department spokesperson, said Friday.

“We took a look at the case with fresh eyes, reexamined the evidence, but, unfortunately, we’re in the same place,” Jimenez said. “Maybe with that incentive, that can help identify the person or people responsible for those deaths, those homicides.”

Any information, Jimenez said, “could be a big piece of the puzzle to finally bring justice.”

Newsom announced a total of $300,000 in rewards for information leading to arrests and convictions in six unsolved murder cases across California. The other cases involved Michelle Matteucci, 13, in Daly City; John Graves, 27, in Fresno; Darnell Smith, 20, in San Diego; Eduardo Lira, 20, in Santa Paula; and Estevan Mejia, 34, in South El Monte.

“Every family deserves answers when a loved one is taken by violence. For the families of Michelle Matteucci, Gurmej Atwal, Surinder Singh, John Graves, Darnell Smith, Eduardo Lira, and Estevan Mejia, may they soon have the justice they deserve,” Newsom said in a statement posted to his website. “If you know something about their cases, please reach out to local law enforcement.”

Under California law, the governor may offer rewards of up to $50,000 in certain unsolved cases at the request of law enforcement agencies that have exhausted investigative leads. The rewards are intended to encourage people with information about the crimes to come forward.

Elk Grove and its large Sikh community were left reeling from the killings. Five years later, hundreds of residents petitioned city leaders to name a park in the men’s honor. In 2016, the Elk Grove City Council also declared the city a “No Place for Hate” community, promoting the message at civic events and on social media.

Anyone with information about the killings was urged to call the Elk Grove Police Department at 916-627-3111.

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