7 dead, including shooting suspect Wade Michael Page, at Sikh temple at Wisconsin Sikh temple/ Coming Up: 10 a.m. Police News Conference

At least one gunman attacked worshippers at a Sikh temple in the Milwaukee suburb of Oak Creek, Wisconsin, on Sunday, leaving at least one dead and two wounded while police converged on the site.
Some people are believed to be trapped inside the Sikh Temple of Wisconsin, and at least one gunman may still be inside, Alderman Dan Jakubczyk told CNN.
"As far as I know, it is still an active situation," Jakubczyk said.
Carolyn Bellin, a spokeswoman for Milwaukee's Froedtert Hospital, said one of two men brought there from the incident was in surgery early Sunday morning, while the other was in the surgical intensive care unit.
There was no immediate comment from police in Oak Creek, on the south side of Milwaukee. But at least one body was visible lying in the parking lot, and Kathy Moran, a nursing supervisor at Columbia St. Mary's hospital in Milwaukee, told CNN that early reports suggested between eight to 20 people had been wounded.
Gurcharan Grewal, president of the Sikh Religious Society of Wisconsin, told CNN that he has heard from multiple people that there were wounded people still inside the temple and that there may have been multiple perpetrators. Police have sealed off the entire area, he said.
Grewal spoke to CNN from another Sikh temple about 20 miles away, where he said police were on the scene was well.
"We are really vigilant. We are really concerned," he said.
The temple has a congregation of 250 to 400, according to its website.
"I just want to say this temple was built a number of years ago and there have never been any problems with this temple," Jakubczyk said. "They've been a plus to this city and to my district."

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Police: Officer at Sikh temple shooting "put down" 1 shooter; no word on shooter's condition.

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The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel pointed to reports that the head priest of the Sikh Temple of Wisconsin in Oak Creek was locked inside a bathroom with a mobile phone.

It said about 50 people were at another temple in nearby Brookfield for a Sunday morning service and many went outside after learning of the shooting in Oak Creek.

The president of the temple was among those shot, according to the newspaper, adding that Federal Bureau of Investigation agents were among the law enforcement officers who had responded at the scene.

A police dispatcher earlier told AFP that several people had been shot, but could not confirm how many people were injured or whether any one had been killed.

CNN reports aerial pictures show what appear to be multiple bodies in the car park.

A spokeswoman for Froedert Hospital, the main trauma centre in the Milwaukee area, has told CNN two men have been taken there and the hospital is ready to receive more.

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Police in Wisconsin say seven people are dead at a Sikh temple near Milwaukee, including the suspected gunman.
Greenfield Police Chief Bradley Wentlandt says tactical officers have been through the temple where shots were fired about 10:30 a.m. Sunday. He says they found four people inside the building and three people outside.
He says one of those killed outside is the suspect, who fired on the first officer to arrive. Wentlandt says that officer fired back, killing the suspect. He says the officer is now at an area hospital in surgery.
Wentlandt says police do not believe a second shooter was involved.
He also says the best information he has is that two people, including the officer who was shot, were taken to hospitals.

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There is a feeling among some Iowa Sikhs that the tragic shooting at a Sikh Temple in Wisconsin today was connected to a mistaken belief that Sikh are Muslim.

There is a feeling among some Iowa Sikhs that the tragic shooting at a Sikh Temple in Wisconsin today was connected to a mistaken belief that Sikh are Muslim.

The feeling is that there has been hatred towards Muslims since the 9/11 attack, and Sikhs, many whom wear turbans or scarfs, are included in that animosity, said Jagtar Singh, 67.

"People don't spare even places of worship," Singh said on Sunday. "If people have misconceptions about who Sikhs are, they should know we are a peaceful people. We believe in one God."

Singh is a past president of the leadership board of the Sikh Temple of Iowa, which has been here in West Des Moines since 1998. It is tucked into a suburban neighborhood. The unassuming one-story brick building has an orange flag bearing the Sikh symbol hanging above the entry and a white picket fence in the yard.

Singh said he learned of the shooting, in which a gunman and six others died, in Oak Creek, WI, a suburb of Milwaukee, shortly before their weekly services at 11:30 a.m. About 60-70 people attended the service, which went on as usual.

Following the service, worshipers gathered for a vegetarian meal called a 'langer,' which included vegetables, yogurt and a flat bread called 'roti.'

The Sikh Temple of Iowa will have a special prayer service in a couple days in response to the tragedy.

"I won't fight it. I won't get angry. I'll just pray that it won't happen again," said Jeevanjot Singh, 12, Jordan Creek Elementary.

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Iowa Sikhs

This is the first I have ever heard of this group.

lindamarie wrote:

Iowa Sikhs

This is the first I have ever heard of this group.

I've heard of them before; they are for peace. I believe it's pronounced SEEK

Sikhism
A progressive religion well ahead of its time when it was founded over 500 years ago, The Sikh religion today has a following of over 20 million people worldwide and is ranked as the worlds 5th largest religion. Sikhism preaches a message of Devotion and remembrance of God at all times, truthful living, equality of mankind and denounces superstitions and blind rituals. Sikhism is open to all through the teachings of its 10 Gurus enshrined in the Sikh Holy Book and Living Guru, Sri Guru Granth Sahib.

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A neighborhood has been evacuated.

Armored tactical vehicle has moved into the Cudahy scene.

by Tom Swigert / WISN.com 4:21 PM


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BJ I don't get it. Did I miss why this gun man shot all these people?

lindamarie wrote:BJ I don't get it. Did I miss why this gun man shot all these people?

No one knows or at least they aren't telling. They are searching the suspects home right now.

Wis. Sikh temple shooting investigators execute search of suspected shooter's home

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Police in Wisconsin have evacuated homes in a Milwaukee suburb northeast of the Sikh temple where an unknown gunman killed six Sunday morning.

The evacuations are in Cudahy, which is about six miles from the temple in Oak Creek.

Police have roped off four blocks in a neighborhood with a mix of duplexes and single-family homes, as well as one house.

FBI agents are there with an armored truck, a trailer and other vehicles. Other law enforcement officers are there too, along with a police dog.

Fifty-eight-year-old Ken Kacner lives about a block from the house that police have targeted.

Kacner says neighborhood has changed over the years and has become more dangerous.

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FBI treating temple shooting as case of domestic terrorism
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Tattoos on the body of the slain Sikh temple gunman and certain biographical details led the FBI to treat the attack at a Milwaukee-area temple as an act of domestic terrorism, officials said Sunday.

The shootings in Oak Creek, Wis., left seven dead, including the gunman, and three critically wounded. One of the injured was a police officer who was expected to survive.

A federal official who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media refused to say whether the gunman was thought to belong to a hate group or some other violent group because the investigation was still unfolding.

Contrary to multiple panicked reports from the scene, officials say they believe there was only one shooter.

Oak Creek police handed control of the investigation to the FBI on Sunday afternoon.

Federal officials cautioned against thinking that a concrete link to a domestic terrorism group or hate group had been established.

“The investigation will have to continue to see and determine the motive,” said a federal law enforcement official who had been briefed on the early planning for the case. “We don’t know much about the motive at this point.”

Oak Creek police declined to identify the gunman or outline a possible motive.

The designation of “domestic terrorism” under the FBI’s rubric — which was not applied to the Aurora, Colo., theater shooting — implies a political agenda. The FBI defines terrorism as “the unlawful use of force or violence against persons or property to intimidate or coerce a government, the civilian population, or any segment thereof, in furtherance of political or social objectives.”

TMJ 4, citing police sources, reported that two semiautomatic handguns had been recovered and that police were searching a red truck in front of the temple.

Oak Creek Police Chief John Edwards said that two officers responded to the initial 911 call and that one of them was “ambushed” while checking on a victim and was shot several times. The gunman then shot at the other officer, who returned fire and killed the shooter, Edwards said.

“Because of the heroic actions of our officers, they stopped this from being worse than it could have been,” Edwards said at an afternoon news briefing.

The survivors have been taken from the temple and moved to a nearby bowling alley as officials begin what they described as a lengthy investigative process, he said. The victims’ bodies were expected to remain in the temple until investigators finished examining the scene for evidence, which could take until late into the night.

Officials said it took a long time to clear the scene with SWAT teams because of conflicting reports about multiple shooters. Police later said they think there was only one gunman, who has been described as white, with a large build and in his 30s.

“The city of Oak Creek is outraged by the senseless act of violence that happened in our city today,” Mayor Steve Scaffidi said at a news briefing.

In a statement, President Obama said he was “deeply saddened” by the news. “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,” he said.

Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney called the shooting “a senseless act of violence and a tragedy that should never befall any house of worship.”

The Sikh faith originated in India in the 15th century. Male followers wear turbans and women wear head scarves. In the U.S., Sikhs occasionally have been mistaken for Muslims. They have also been victims of hate crimes.

It’s the area’s second mass shooting involving a religious community in the past seven years. In 2005, a gunman killed seven and then committed suicide at a church meeting in Brookfield, Wis.

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at the thought of the victims laying there. Thanks for posting this BJ.

Colleen Henry said agents have guns drawn at the Cudahy scene.
by Tom Swigert / WISN.com edited by Tom Swigert / WISN.com 5:02 PM

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Search at the suspect's neighborhood....Cudahy.

Wow I am afraid of how many dead there are listening to the Live conference. They are not releasing much of anything.

Recap: 4 dead inside temple, 3 dead outside temple. 1 of the dead outside was the suspected gunman.

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We Energies on scene in Cudahy. Crews on the ground saying that power is being cut from the home in question.
by Tom Swigert / WISN.com 5:29 PM

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going into the house through an upper story window

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According to the Milwaukee-Wisconsin Journal Sentinel, the man authorities believe was the lone shooter is described as a white man in his 30s who was bald or balding with a heavy build in a short-sleeved or sleeveless T-shirt.

Kanwarpdeep Singh Kaleka, who was working as an interpreter for the police and is a member of the temple, said that the shooter had a 9/11 tattoo on one of his arms.

Kaleka also told CNN that the shooter seemed to be targeting men wearing turbans.

"Everyone of all faiths are allowed in the temple," Kaleka said. "It's unfortunate that someone took advantage of this."

Speaking on CNN, Rajwant Singh, the chairman of the Sikh Council on Religion and Education, said that since 9/11, many people who are not familiar with the Sikh religion mistake those who follow the faith with followers of the Taliban or of Osama bin Laden.

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As authorities searched a home in Cudahy Sunday evening believed to be the residence of the man who shot and killed six people at an Oak Creek Sikh temple, a woman whose son owns that home shed some light on the shooter.

The mother of the suspect’s landlord told Patch Sunday she believed the man had “just broken up with his girlfriend.”

“He’s a renter,” said the woman, whom Patch is not identifying. “He’s new actually. He rented a room with my son.”

The woman said she is “completely freaked out” and that she believes her son found the man as a renter for his home in the 3700 block of E. Holmes Avenue “through an ad.”

“He lived with my son for three weeks, then the house across the street became empty, and he moved there,” she said.

Her son owns both houses, so he remained the man’s landlord, she said.

The suspect's landlord, who was also the suspect's roommate for several weeks, is the brother of a local suburban police detective.

She said that she doesn’t know much about the man, other than his first name, because she couldn’t reach her son Sunday night because he was being interviewed by the police on Sunday night.

“He called to tell me he was being questioned and wouldn’t be able to talk,” she said.

“He was quiet. He worked second shift,” she said of the alleged shooter, who has not been named by authorities. “They (her son and the shooter) both worked a lot, so they never got to see each other.”

She said she remembered the man had just broken up with his girlfriend because “he mentioned that to my son. Then he wanted to move on his own. So he moved to the duplex across the street.”

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Kent Wainscott reports several law enforcement helicopters have been circling the area around the temple for the last hour.
by Tom Swigert / WISN.com 6:14 PM

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update: 7 deceased, 3 injured.

OAK CREEK, Wisconsin (CNN) -
The man suspected of shooting and killing six people at a Sikh temple in Wisconsin on Sunday is former Army soldier Wade Michael Page, 40, law enforcement officials say.
Earlier, the FBI said that it had not determined a motive for the Sunday morning shooting and that investigators were looking into whether the attack might be classified as domestic terrorism.

Tom Ahern, a spokesman for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, said the gunman had a military background but would not elaborate. He also would not elaborate on the man's tattoos.

Kanwardeep Singh Kaleka, a member of the temple in Oak Creek, Wisconsin, said those inside the gurdwara, or Sikh house of worship, described the attacker as a bald white man, dressed in a white T-shirt and black pants and with a 9/11 tattoo on one arm -- which "implies to me that there's some level of hate crime there.

"Because of their customary beards and turbans, Sikh men are often confused with Muslims, and they have been the targets of hate crimes since the September 11, 2001, attacks on New York and Washington.

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The suspect in a shooting that left six people dead at a Sikh temple in suburban Milwaukee on Sunday has been identified as Wade Michael Page, who served in the U.S. Army for about six years.

According to sources in the U.S. Army, Page enlisted in April 1992 and given a less-than-honorable discharge in October 1998. He served at Fort Bliss, Texas, in the psychological operations unit in 1994, and was last stationed at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, attached to the psychological operations unit. The details of his discharge were not immediately clear.

Wade was killed outside the temple in a shootout with police officers after the rampage that left terrified congregants hiding in closets and others texting friends outside for help.

Officials had previously described the suspect as a heavy-set, 40-year-old Caucasian with numerous tattoos.

Sources tell CBS News some unspecified evidence suggests race or ethnicity may have played a role in the violence, but no links to extremist groups have been confirmed.

Records show that Page was the registered inhabitant at an apartment in South Milwaukee from December 2011 until the present.
CBS News correspondent Ben Tracy reports Page is only believed to have lived at the residence for two weeks, according to neighbors.

"Nobody has really seen him," neighbor Alma Rayes tells CBS News. "We heard here and there that they've been doing a lot of arguing, between him and another female, but I haven't seen him."

Oak Creek Police Chief John Edwards said police expected to release more information Monday. He said the FBI will lead the investigation because the shootings are being treated as domestic terrorism, or an attack that originated inside the U.S.

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The man who allegedly murdered six people at a Sikh temple in suburban Milwaukee yesterday, identified in media reports as Wade Michael Page, was a frustrated neo-Nazi who had been the leader of a racist white-power band.

In 2010, Page, then the leader of the band End Apathy, gave an interview to the white supremacist website Label 56. He said that when he started the band in 2005, its name reflected his wish to “figure out how to end people’s apathetic ways” and start “moving forward.” “I was willing to point out some of my faults on how I was holding myself back,” Page said. Later, he added, “The inspiration was based on frustration that we have the potential to accomplish so much more as individuals and a society in whole.” He did not discuss violence in the interview.

Page told the website that he had been a part of the white power music scene since 2000, when he left his native Colorado on a motorcycle. He attended white power concerts in Georgia, North Carolina, West Virginia and Colorado. At various times, he said, he also played in the hate rock bands Youngland (2001-2003), Celtic Warrior, Radikahl, Max Resist, Intimidation One, Aggressive Force and Blue Eyed Devils. End Apathy, he said, included “Brent” on bass and “Ozzie” on drums; the men were former members of Definite Hate and another band, 13 Knots.
In 2000, the Southern Poverty Law Center has found that Page also attempted to purchase goods from the neo-Nazi National Alliance, then America’s most important hate group.

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Photo from this link
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********************

Many more pictures of the the band and such on this link.

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Oak Creek police have planned a 10 a.m. news conference that will provide updates into the investigation of the fatal shooting at a Sikh temple Sunday.

BJ your the best blog detective I know. I looked all over the web trying to find information on the shooter with a picture of him.

I found the Myspace page for his band early this morning and at that time the photo of the 3 band members had 1083 views........right now it has been viewed 2660 times!

The gunman in Sunday's Sikh Temple shooting is a Colorado native who led a music group that has been classified as one supporting white-supremacist ideology. He was honorably discharged from the Army in 1998 after six years of service.
The 40-year-old Army veteran identified as the shooter inside an Oak Creek Sikh Temple on Sunday was a Colorado native who sang and played guitar in a band that may have had white-supremacist motives.

Wade Michael Page, who was residing in a rented duplex in Cudahy, appeared in 2010 in an interview on Label56.com — which the Southern Poverty Law Center identified as being a white supremacist website. The discussion focused around his band, End Apathy.

"I am originally from Colorado and had always been independent, but back in 2000 I set out to get involved and wanted to basically start over," Page said in the interview. "End Apathy began in 2005 and the concept was based on trying to figure out what it would take to actually accomplish positive results in society and what is holding us back. ... (My lyric topics focus on) sociological issues, religion, and how the value of human life has been degraded by being submissive to tyranny and hypocrisy that we are subjugated to."

Among music posted on his MySpace page are songs titled, "Self Destruct," "Usefull Idiots," "GCPC," "Submission," and "Insignificant." The MySpace page includes photos of Page.

At least seven people have been confirmed dead, and three in critical condition at Froedtert Hospital. Page, who was armed with a 9-millimeter, semi-automatic pistol during Sunday's shooting, according to CBSnews.com, was also shot and killed by a police officer during the incident.

Related: Temple Shooting Victims Were Loving Family, Members of Peaceful Community
Witnesses described the attacker "as a bald, white man, dressed in a white T-shirt and black pants and with a 9/11 tattoo on one arm," according to WPTV.com.

While no motive has been officially determined in the incident, officials have described it as act of domestic terrorism.

Sikh Indians, because of religious tradition, wear turbans to cover their uncut hair and have longer beards. They are often mistaken for Muslims and have been the targets of racially-motivated crimes by anti-Muslim people and groups.

A search on Wisconsin Court System Circuit Court Access shows no criminal — or even traffic — violation history for Page. According to BuzzFeed.com, Page pleaded guilty in 1994 to a Texas misdemeanor for causing criminal damage to property between $20 and $200. He also went by the last name Pierson.

His landlord, Kurt Weins, told the Journal-Sentinel he was surprised by what had happened.

"I had (Page) checked out and he definitely checked out," Weins told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. "The cops told me they don’t want me to say nothing right now."

The mother of the suspected shooter's landlord told Patch the man police are investigating as the gunman was "quiet" and that he had just broken up with his girlfriend.

Page served 6 years in the Army he was discharged for "under honorable conditions," according to Fort Bragg Patch, citing a Foxnews.com report. That is less than an honorable discharge but not as severe as a dishonorable discharge.

Officials at Fort Bragg on Monday could not confirm Page's assignment at the psychological operations unit, where Fox News said he was placed, or at Fort Bragg.

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BJ wrote:I found the Myspace page for his band early this morning and at that time the photo of the 3 band members had 1083 views........right now it has been viewed 2660 times!

Now less than an hour later......4115 views.

FBI are looking to identify and speak to this man. Call 1-800-CALL-FBI with any information.

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This entire thing is simply unreal!!!! Thanks, BJ, for all the updates as I don't have access to any news stations except local ones. I am so glad they shot this madman!

A fund has been established for the victims and their families:

Victims Memorial Fund
c/o Sikh Temple
7512 S. Howell Ave.
Oak Creek, WI 53154
by Tom Swigert / WISN.com 10:28 AM


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Posted: 08/06/2012 1:06 pm Updated: 08/06/2012 1:06 pm

Do you recognize this man?
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Authorities investigating the killing of six people at a Sikh temple in Wisconsin are trying to identify a person of interest who was at the crime scene after the shooting.

According to Oak Creek police chief John Edwards, the individual "showed up at the scene after the shooting." Edwards said officers who spotted the guy thought "this guy looks suspicious" but he left before they could speak with him. (Live Updates)

Authorities cautioned that they do not believe anyone other than the suspected shooter, Wade Michael Page, was involved in the deadly shooting spree.

"We have every reason to believe there was only one shooter ... though our investigation to that end continues," U.S. Attorney James Santelle said at a press conference Monday morning.

Page, 40, was founder of the band End Apathy and lived in an apartment building in Cudahy, Wis. Authorities searched the building Sunday. The landlord there told authorities Page held a night job making welding supplies.

Earlier today, Oak Creek Police said Page joined the U.S. Army in 1992 and was serving in the psychological operations unit in Fort Bragg, N.C. He was allegedly discharged in October 1998, under less-than-honorable circumstances. The circumstances of his discharge are not immediately clear.

Police say Page, whom they initially described as a heavy-set Caucasian man with a shaved head and numerous tattoos, stormed the Sikh temple Sunday morning. He allegedly shot six people to death and wounded three others. Wade was killed outside the temple in a shootout with police officers.

A motive in the case is unclear. Authorities said they were treating the attack as an act of domestic terrorism. Because of their dress and appearance, Sikh men are often confused with Muslims.

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lindamarie wrote:BJ your the best blog detective I know. I looked all over the web trying to find information on the shooter with a picture of him.

LM, I totally agree with you about BJ. I have not even looked around the internet for the info on this horrific, senseless shooting that happened because I knew it would all be right on VH to read. BJ, you are excellent at finding things on the internet.

She's the best!!!! :heart:

There were news reports earlier on CNN from Eyewitnesses and a cop saying there were 4 shooters, I wonder when it changed to just the one guy? Maybe that man they're looking for above was part of it also?

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I read today where the multiple 911 calls gave conflicting reports which caused confusion as to how many shooters were involved. It ended up being only 1 shooter. Thanks for posting the links sam.

Some of those commenters on there were pretty crazy, but I figured being CNN, the report was authentic - at the time. (Seems to be a lot of conspiracy theorists on you tube - LOL)

That shooter sounds like he's been crazy for a long time. Thanks for the pics!

This being on the heels of the Colorado shooting is shocking. Has the whole world gone mad?

I agree with you LM.