Police identify lone suspect in Wisconsin temple shooting
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E-mail Xinhua, August 7, 2012
U.S. police identified on Monday Wade Michael Page, 40, as the lone suspect who killed six people and critically wounded three others at a Sikh temple in Oak Creek, Wisconsin on Sunday.
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Video clips of Wade Michael Page, suspect in Wisconsin temple shooting |
Oak Creek police also released the identities of the shooting victims, aged 39 to 84. Paramjit Kaur was the only female among those killed, while the five male victims were confirmed as Prakash Singh, Sita Singh, Ranjit Singh, Satwant Singh Kaleka, and Suveg Singh.
Page also critically wounded the first responding police officer. According to Oak Creek Police Chief John Edwards, Page shot Lieutenant Brian Murphy, 51, eight to nine times at close range. Murphy, who has served 21 years with the police department, currently remains in critical condition.
Edwards told reporters that Page, who died after a shoot-out with police officers, was believed to have acted alone in the attacks.
Page served in the U.S. Army from 1992 to 1998, where he worked as a "psychological operations specialist,"Edwards said, adding that Page had been classified as ineligible for re-enlistment in the Army.
Oak Creek Police said local officials were working on the Page case in cooperation with the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF).
According to ATF Special Agent in Charge Bernard Zapor, the 9mm handgun used in the attacks was purchased legally. Also found as evidence in the shootings were multiple ammunition magazines.
At a press conference Monday morning, law enforcement officials said they were still investigating any possible motive for the temple attacks, and that to report a motive now would be " premature."
However, FBI Special Agent in Charge Teresa Carlson confirmed that the FBI was investigating the Page case as a possible act of domestic terrorism, and was looking at any potential ties to white supremacist groups. The FBI defines domestic terrorism as the use of force or violence for social or political gain.
Carlson said that the FBI was currently unaware of any threats to the Sikh temple or other religious organizations in the area, and added that at this point the FBI believed there was no specific reason to be concerned about possible copycat attacks.
Also at the press conference, U.S. Attorney James Santelle expressed his sorrow for the victims and their families, saying the Sikh community should know law enforcement officials remained committed to securing their security and safety.
Santelle also reflected that this was not the first time that the Sikh community had been a target of violence, noting a case in Arizona shortly after the September 11 attacks in 2001. Santelle shared the story of Balbir Singh Sodhi, a Sikh gas station owner, who was shot after a man mistook Sodhi for a practitioner of the Muslim faith, and reportedly killed him out of "revenge" for September 11.
"The Muslim faith is not the Sikh faith," Santelle said, adding that the United States should be about diversity in all things.
Reaction to the Wisconsin temple shootings has also been nationwide, with U.S. President Barack Obama and Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney both denouncing the attacks and expressing sympathy for the victims.
Two vigils have been scheduled in Oak Creek and a fund has been set up for the victims and their families.
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