2012 — Aug 5, Rampage Mass Shooting, Sikh Temple of Wisconsin, Oak Creek, WI[1]-6-7

— 6-7  Iyer. “Oak Creek…Two Years Since Sikh Temple Shooting.” NBC News, 8-5-2014.

— 6-7  Wikipedia.  “Wisconsin Sikh temple shooting.” 12-17-2012 modification.

— 6-7  Yaccino, et al. “Gunman Kills 6 at a Sikh Temple Near Milwaukee.” NYT, 8-5-2012.

 

Iyer: “….on August 5, 2012, a gunman with ties to white supremacist organizations walked into the Sikh Temple of Wisconsin and began a rampage which killed six people, wounded many, and terrorized an entire community.[2]….

 

“…what sets this community apart is the…element of racial targeting that was at play there: a vicious combination of racial anxiety and post-9/11 animus that requires an additional and unique set of responses and interventions from all of us.

 

“Racism was undeniably part of shooter Wade Michael Page’s twisted motivation. He targeted the temple on a Sunday afternoon when the gurdwara’s halls were full of worshippers. The Sikhs settling in Milwaukee and its suburbs reflect the demographic changes in America that are part of the inspirational fuel for hate groups like the ones Page joined.

 

“In fact, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center,[3] the number of hate groups has increased since 2000, shaped in part by anxiety over the country’s rapidly transforming racial landscape….” (Iyer, Deepa. “Oak Creek Community Marks Two Years Since Sikh Temple Shooting.” NBC News, 8-5-2014.)

 

Yaccino, et al. (NYT): “Oak Creek, Wis. — The priests had gathered in the lobby of the sprawling Sikh temple here in suburban Milwaukee, and lunch was being prepared as congregants were arriving for Sunday services. Instead of worshipers, though, an armed man stepped through the door and started firing.

 

“In an attack that the police said they were treating as “a domestic terrorist-type incident,” the gunman stalked through the temple around 10:30 a.m. Congregants ran for shelter and barricaded themselves in bathrooms and prayer halls, where they made desperate phone calls and sent anguished texts pleading for help as confusion and fear took hold. Witnesses described a scene of chaos and carnage….

 

“Six people were killed and three others were wounded on Sunday at the 17,000-square-foot Sikh Temple of Wisconsin in Oak Creek, a city of about 35,000 just south of Milwaukee, officials said.

 

“The gunman’s rampage ended when one of the first police officers to arrive shot and killed him. Another police officer, who tried to aid a victim, was ambushed by the gunman and shot multiple times. He was in critical condition but was expected to survive, the authorities said.

 

“The police did not release any details about the gunman or a possible motive for the shooting, beyond raising the prospect of terrorism. Thomas Ahern, a spokesman for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, said the killer was a 40-year-old white man…

 

“Though violence against Sikhs in Wisconsin was unheard of before the shooting, many in this community said they had sensed a rise in antipathy since the attacks on Sept. 11 and suspected it was because people mistake them for Muslims. Followers of Sikhism, or Gurmat, a monotheistic faith founded in the 15th century in South Asia, typically do not cut their hair, and men often wear colorful turbans and refrain from cutting their beards….

 

“Four bodies were found inside the temple and three outside, including that of the gunman, Chief Wentlandt said….” (Yaccino, Steven, Michael Schwirtz, Marc Santora. “Gunman Kills 6 at a Sikh Temple Near Milwaukee.” New York Times, 8-5-2012.)

 

Sources

 

Iyer, Deepa. “Oak Creek Community Marks Two Years Since Sikh Temple Shooting.” NBC News, 8-5-2014. Accessed 6-7-2015 at: http://www.nbcnews.com/news/asian-america/oak-creek-community-marks-two-years-sikh-temple-shooting-n171981

 

NBC News. “FBI: Sikh temple gunman killed himself after being wounded by police.” 8-8-2012. Accessed 6-7-2015 at: http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/08/08/13182244-fbi-sikh-temple-gunman-killed-himself-after-being-wounded-by-police?lite

 

NBC News. “Police: Sikh temple shooting a ‘domestic terrorist incident’.” 8-5-2012. Accessed 6-7-2015 at: http://www.nbcnews.com/video/nbc-news/48519922#48519922

 

Southern Poverty Law Center. “Hate and Extremism.” Accessed 6-7-2015 at: http://www.splcenter.org/what-we-do/hate-and-extremism

 

Wikipedia. “Wisconsin Sikh temple shooting.” 12-17-2012 modification. Accessed 12-17-2012 update. Accessed 12-17-2012 at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wisconsin_Sikh_temple_shooting

 

Yaccino, Steven, Michael Schwirtz, Marc Santora. “Gunman Kills 6 at a Sikh Temple Near Milwaukee.” New York Times, 8-5-2012. Accessed 6-7-2015 at: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/06/us/shooting-reported-at-temple-in-wisconsin.html?_r=0

 

 

[1] Six victims. Seventh death was when gunman shot himself after being shot by a police officer. (NBC News. “FBI: Sikh temple gunman killed himself after being wounded by police.” 8-8-2012.)

[2] Iyer provides a link to: NBC News. “Police: Sikh temple shooting a ‘domestic terrorist incident’.” 8-5-2012.

[3] Iyer provides a link to SPLC website and page on “Hate and Extremism.”