WEST SACRAMENTO, California — The daily stroll had become routine for two elderly Sikh men in a Sacramento suburb, as well as for neighbors and friends accustomed to seeing the men walk by with their long beards and turbans.

But the traditional headwear might have singled them out late last week when they were gunned down, one fatally, in what police are investigating as a suspected hate crime. On Monday, religious leaders pleaded for the community to come forward with leads and said they will not be deterred by violence.

“Our community will continue to wear our turbans proudly,” said Navi Kaur, the granddaughter of Surinder Singh, 65, who died from his wounds.

His friend, Gurmej Atwal, 78, remains in critical condition.

They were walking through their neighborhood in Elk Grove Friday afternoon when someone in what witnesses described as a pickup truck opened fire. Police said they have no suspects nor any indication the shooting was a hate crime, but the turbans could have made the elderly men a target of extremists.

During a news conference Monday at a Sikh temple, a spokesman said the recent violence has scared some temple-goers into concealing any indicators of their religion.

Sikhs often are mistaken for Muslims and have been the subject of occasional violence across the country since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

“The enemies of the United States don’t wear turbans in the United States,” said Amar Shergill, a Sikh leader and attorney. “They don’t want to be singled out. The result is that Sikh Americans since 9-11 have borne the brunt of violent hate crimes.”

He is the attorney for a Sikh cab driver beaten by passengers who shouted anti-Islamic slurs at him four months ago in West Sacramento. That trial started Monday.