FBI probes Sikh temple shooting

Federal investigators on Monday probed a vicious attack on worshippers at a Sikh temple outside of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in which a gunman killed at least six people before he was shot dead by police. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) said the probe into the shooting in Oak Creek, Wisconsin, was in its early stages and that no definitive conclusions could yet be drawn. An ex-army man who was reduced in rank before his discharge, Wade Michael Page, carried out the shootings at a Sikh Temple, a federal official said on Monday. There was no word yet on a motive for Sunday morning’s attack, but police called it an act of domestic terrorism. A federal official identified the shooter as 40-year-old Wade Michael Page. A defence official said the suspect was discharged from the Army in 1998 after entering in 1992. Both officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to speak while the investigation continued. Witnesses said the shooter looked like he had a purpose and knew where he was going. “While the FBI is investigating whether this matter might be an act of domestic terrorism, no motive has been determined at this time,” Special Agent in Charge Teresa Carlson said in a statement. The attack was the second massacre to shock the United States in less than three weeks and will boost pressure on US President Barack Obama and his rival Mitt Romney to address gun control before the Nov.6 presidential election. Obama and Romney both said they were saddened by the attack. Obama said he and First Lady Michelle Obama had been “deeply saddened” to learn of the shooting, and Romney sent his condolences. South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley, who grew up as a Sikh, also joined in the condolences. The suspect died, as did six others he had shot in and near the temple. Three men, including the wounded officer, were taken to a Milwaukee hospital, where a medic said they were in “critical condition.” Witnesses described a bloody scene of confusion and terror as the gunman strode into the temple and opened fire as people gathered for Sunday services. Japal Singh, 29, spoke to several fellow parishioners about what happened and said that while people were still confused, some things were now clear. A man who dropped his father off at the temple, known to Sikhs as a “gurudwara,” said he saw the shooter — described as a tall white man with a bald head — kill two people in the parking lot. “Then he went down inside the temple and then went into the room where the holy scripture is kept and basically shot more people there, multiple people there,” said Singh, a combat medic in the US Army reserve. “Our priest, he’s dead. One of my friends’ grandfathers, he’s dead. It’s a very close-knit community. No matter who’s hurt, we’re all family,” Harinder Kaur, a 22-year-old student, told the media. Factory worker Navreet Raman, 42, said: “It’s terrorising. It’s our worship place. If church is not a safe place, what is? Nothing is safe.” “As we mourn this loss which took place at a house of worship, we are reminded how much our country has been enriched by Sikhs, who are a part of our broader American family,” Obama said in a statement. The president of the temple, Satwant Kaleka, was shot and was taken to a hospital, according to The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, which said the large place of worship had been founded in 1999. From:Gulftoday