According to the town Oak
Creek near of Milwaukee, Police Chief John Edwards said that in this town as a
"domestic terrorist-type incident" that left at least six people and
the gunman dead at a Sikh temple. The FBI team will investigate Sunday's
dangerous rampage.
Another
three people were injured, including the first officer who responds to the
scene. All three wounded - one of whom was shot in the abdomen & chest,
another in the extremities and face and the third in the neck, were in serious
condition on Sunday night at Milwaukee's Froedtert Hospital, hospital said that
in a statement.
The
worshiper's president was among the wounded, his nephew said.
A
man told the CNN affiliate WTMJ, "Nobody is angry here. We're
just confused about this a random act. Was this expressed to us because of the
way we look?"
Authorities
have not yet identified the gunman by name & the details of this occurrence.
Though Thomas Ahern, a man with the ATF's Chicago division, described him as a
white male probably 40 years of age. Probably no connection has been
established between the shooter and the victims of the temple.
Ahern
said to authorities that he has not found yet any motive for this occurrence.
Teresa Carlson, a special agent in charge at the FBI's Milwaukee division, said
about the late Sunday incident that they are still trying to find out either it
might be an act of domestic terrorism or not, no motive has been determined at this
time.
According
to the Sikh American Legal Defense & Education Fund, The Sikh religion
originated in northern India around 1500 and has about 25 million followers,
700,000 of them in the United States.
Sikh
men are always confused for Hindus or Muslims because of their customary beards
and turbans - have been the targets of hate crimes since the September 11,
2001, attack on New York and Washington, said Surinder Singh, a spokesman for
the Guru Nanak Mission Society of Atlanta.
Several
Sikh leaders & members recalled on Sunday occurrence in Arizona which
apparently the retaliation for the attacks that had been carried out days
earlier by the Islamic terrorist group al Qaeda, as well as other less severe
crimes targeting the group over the past decade.
"There
is always nervousness and a sense of fear seems to us that this kind of
incident will take place anywhere, anytime," said Rajwant Singh, chairman
of the Sikh Council on Religion and Education.
Sunday's
attack occurred at 10:30 a.m. (11:30 a.m. ET), when temple members were reading
scriptures and cooking food in preparation for the Sunday community lunch, said
Kanwardeep Singh Kaleka, a member of the congregation and the nephew of its
president.
Kaleka
was not at the temple at the time of the shooting occurred, but helped police
to give some important news as well. He said members described the attacker as
a bald, white man, dressed with white T-shirt and black pants and with a 9/11
tattoo on one arm -which seems to be there's some level of hate crime there.
A
law enforcement official confirmed the shooter was wearing a white T-shirt and
did not have a bulletproof vest. Kaleka said the gunman first started shooting
in the parking lot area, then entered into the temple & proceeded to open
fire.
He
said. "My uncle is one of the administrators of the temple. It's mainly targeted
or shot my uncle. Police searched the suspect's home, "a short
distance" from the temple, on Sunday evening. They found a single 9mm
semi-automatic pistol used by the gunman was found at the scene, along with the
wounded officer's gun.
From
the Initial reports it seemed that there may have been multiple attackers, but
police found no indication of another gunman, said Bradley Wentlandt, the
police chief in nearby Greenfield.
This
Oak Creek temple, or gurdwara, opened in 2007 and has more than 350 worshipers.
Congregation
president Satwant Kaleka was shot and wounded when he tried to seize the gunman,
his son, Amardeep Kaleka told WTMJ. He also told that his mother hide in a
closet during the violence.
State
Rep. Josh Zepnick told WTMJ, "It's quite a very peace-loving community
that has successfully administrated and assimilated into the metropolitan
Milwaukee area.
"Unfortunately,
when this type of stuff hits in your area, you say to yourself, 'Why?' But in
today's society, I don't think there's any place that's free from these idiots,"
Honadel said.
The
American branch of the World Sikh Council, said “Today (Sunday) was a troubling
day, not only for Sikh-Americans, but also for all Americans.”
National
and state political leaders - including Gov. Scott Walker also expressed
condolence after the killings, which came two weeks after massacre destruction at
a Colorado movie theater that left 12 dead and dozens more wounded.
Presumptive
Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney called the slaying "a
senseless act of violence and a tragedy that should never happen any house of
worship."
From
the White House, President Barack Obama said the United States had been
"enriched" by Sikhs community, "who are a part of our broader
American family."
Obama
said, “My administration will provide whatever support is necessary to the
officials who are responding to this tragic shooting and moving forward with an
investigation.”
