Shooting in Sikh Temple in Oak Creek, Wisconsin.

**Triple C** · 05 Aug 12,, 22:56

Seven dead including the shooter. One police officer and two others were wounded; officer in critical condition.

Sikh temple shooting: at least six worshippers killed in Wisconsin | World news | guardian.co.uk

Gunman, six others dead at Wisconsin Sikh temple - CNN.com

Oakland PD calls this an incident of domestic terrorism; FBI is leading investigations.

**Triple C** · 05 Aug 12,, 22:58

Those of you who believe in a higher power might want to send a prayer for the wounded. The wounded officer is the one who arrived first, engaged, and put down the shooter.

**JAD_333** · 05 Aug 12,, 23:17

I hope people are as horrified by this shooting as they were by the Colorado theater shooting.

**devgupt** · 05 Aug 12,, 23:31

Sikh Temple shooting being treated as domestic terrorism, Oak Creek police say - JSOnline

FBI is treating it as a domestic terrorism issue.

**bigross86** · 05 Aug 12,, 23:40

Condolences

**Bigfella** · 06 Aug 12,, 00:13

terrible

**Officer of Engineers** · 06 Aug 12,, 00:52

God Bless

**Double Edge** · 06 Aug 12,, 01:30

Originally Posted by devgupt

FBI is treating it as a domestic terrorism issue.

Huh ?

One of the temple's committee members, Ven Boba Ri, said that based on communication with people inside the temple, the shooter was a white male in his 30s.

"We have no idea," he said of the motive. "It's pretty much a hate crime. It's not an insider."

According to Ri, the man started shooting after he walked up to a priest who was standing outside, and shot him.

Then he went inside and started shooting.

Gurcharan Grewal, president of the Sikh Religious Society of Wisconsin said he has heard no theories on the shooter's motivation.

"Nobody knows," he said. "There was no indication, no warning, nothing. I think it was just some isolated hate crime or something. "

However

Oak Creek Police Chief John Edwards said he could not release any information on the shooter, including what the shooter was wearing, saying there are "multiple reports" of different things. He said there were multiple weapons at the scene, but did not say how many or what variety.

Whilst channel surfing between the olympics, i heard an interviewer ask a sikh this question.

What are your religion's core beliefs

**JAD_333** · 06 Aug 12,, 01:49

Originally Posted by Double Edge

Whilst channel surfing between the olympics, i heard an interviewer ask a sikh this question.

What are your religion's core beliefs

Needs to be asked. We don't know much about sikhs in this country. Here's a snippet from BBC news. Probably a very superficial skim.

Sikhism at a glance

Sikhism is a monotheistic faith founded more than 500 years ago in South Asia
Observant Sikhs do not cut their hair; male followers often wear turbans and do not shave their beards
The faith has about 27 million followers worldwide. There are up to 500,000 Sikhs in the US, where they have sometimes been confused with Muslims
In Sept 2001, an Arizona gas station owner, Balbir Singh Sodhi, was shot dead by a man said to be seeking revenge on Muslims for 9/11
BBC News - Seven killed in Wisconsin Sikh temple shooting

**Tronic** · 06 Aug 12,, 02:39

May the departed souls find peace, and may God grant strength to the families of the victims. I also pray for a quick recovery of all the injured people still in critical condition, including the brave officer who took down the culprit and saved more innocent lives despite being critically wounded himself.

**Tronic** · 06 Aug 12,, 02:48

Originally Posted by Double Edge

Whilst channel surfing between the olympics, i heard an interviewer ask a sikh this question.

What are your religion's core beliefs

Considering the fact that post-9/11, Sikhs have faced the brunt of the hate attacks in the US, from a Gurudwara being burnt down to several Sikh men being shot dead over the years, the question is not misplaced at all. Sikhs are often wrongly associated with Bin Laden or the Taliban, due to the turbans, therefore that question merely attempts to address the real problem, i.e., ignorance.

**antimony** · 06 Aug 12,, 02:55

Despicable,

Innocent and brave lives lost and a peaceful place violated :((

**USSWisconsin** · 06 Aug 12,, 03:26

Shocking and terrible. A monstrous deed. Very close to home too.

My Sympathies to the victims. Many thanks to the brave policeman who ended the rampage, I wish him a speedy recovery - he is a hero IMO.

S2 · 06 Aug 12,, 05:10

"...Very close to home too..."

Indeed. Just read about it in the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. Like others here, my prayers for the victims, condolences to the families left behind and grateful thanks to the police officer that ended these heinous killings.

**devgupt** · 06 Aug 12,, 05:42

I went to a candlelight vigil event in memory of the Sikh victims in downtown Milwaukee. What was comforting was that it was organised by locals and they were present in large numbers.Many of them shook hands with the memebrs of Indian community and asked us to talk about Sikhism.We all chanted prayers for the victims and wished recovery to those injured.