WASHINGTON:
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has said that it is
investigating whether the shooting at a gurdwara in the US is an act of
"domestic" terrorism.
"While the FBI
is investigating whether this matter might be an act of domestic
terrorism, no motive has been determined at this time," the FBI Milwaukee
special agent-in-charge Teresa Carlson said in a late night statement,
hours after the local police termed the tragic incident as an act of
domestic terrorism.
The FBI is working closely with the Oak
Creek Police department and other local and federal agencies to
investigate Sunday's shooting incident, Carlson said.
The
country's premier investigative agency has launched an in-depth
investigation into the shooting incident in which at least seven people
including the alleged shooter was killed, that sent shocked waves
throughout the country.
"We know our community has been deeply
impacted by this incident, and our thoughts are with those affected and
particularly with the officer who was wounded in the line of duty to
protect others," the FBI said.
While the name of the alleged
gunman has not been released yet, Thomas Ahern, a spokesman with the
ATF's Chicago division, described him as a white male roughly 40 years
of age, CNN has reported.
The motive of the shooting has not been determined yet, even as
security authorities late on Sunday surrounded a duplex in Cudahy
neighbourhood, where the shooter apparently lived.
Federal law enforcement officials told NBC News
the suspected gunman had no obvious connection to domestic terror or
white supremacist groups and apparently was not on any list of suspected
terrorists. The suspect was in his early 40s, and while he had an
arrest record, it was for minor traffic offenses, a federal official
said, NBC reported.
A law enforcement official told NBC News
the gunman was dressed in a white T-shirt and black tactical-style
pants, which had several pockets for holding ammunition magazines. He
was armed with a single handgun, the official said.
Though the
name of the gunman was not released but police say they have a tentative
ID and were searching his home. The location was not disclosed, the
news channel said.
Officials told the news channel that the alleged shooter, who served in the US Army, had many tattoos.
Obama takes stock of situation
US President Barack Obama
reviewed the security situation with his top national security aides
following the tragic shooting in a gurdwara in Wisconsin and also called
on gurdwara trustee to offer his condolences.
Obama convened a
call with the FBI Director Robert Mueller, the chief of staff Jack
Lew, and the homeland security advisor John Brennan on Sunday to
receive an update on the tragic shooting in Oak Creek, Wisconsin, the
White House said.
Following the briefing, the Obama called Wisconsin governor Scott Walker,
Oak Creek mayor Steve Scaffidi and trustee of the gurdwara Charanjeet
Singh to express his condolences for the lives lost and his concern for
those who were injured.
A tragic day, say US lawmakers
Condemning the gurdwara shooting in Wisconsin as a "senseless" act of
terrorism, the US lawmakers have termed it as a "tragic" day.
"This is a tragic day for our city and for all communities of faith who
share grief and concern for the victims of today's shooting and their
loved ones," Wisconsin senator, Herb Kohl said in a statement.
"We also share a deep gratitude to our law enforcement officers. Our
prayers are with Milwaukee's entire Sikh community and we wish them
comfort and peace," the senator said.
"Our thoughts and prayers
are with the victims and the families of yet another senseless act of
violence in America," senator Ron Johnson said.
Johnson said that he have full confidence in the legal authorities that will be investigating this heinous crime.
‘Domestic terror’ blamed for US Gurdwara shooting
According to the latest reports, six people have been killed in the
Gurdwara shooting, with 25 others wounded. The gunman opened fire at the
temple in Oak Creek, Wisconsin, a town outside Milwaukee.
The gunman, who is believed to have been shot dead, has been identified as a “bald, white man with a 9/11 tattoo.”
CTV News
reports that, the Wisconsin police has termed this as an act of
‘domestic terrorism’. According to the report, Police Chief John Edward
that crime was being viewed as an act of “domestic terrorism,” which
refers to a terrorist activity carried out by someone from within the United States.
NBC News reported
, citing officials, that the suspect served in the US Army,
and had “some kind of radical or white supremacist views”. But
officials said that as far as was known, he was not in any kind of
radical organisation, and other than a few traffic offences, had no
criminal record.
Suspect’s home being searched
Mike De Sisti, a multimedia journalist with
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, the local paper that has been providing the most extensive coverage on the gurdwara shooting, is currently near the suspected gunman’s home that is being searched.
On Twitter, @mdesisti says that FBI
are currently searching the top floor of a duplex in Cudahy. Earlier,
he reported that armed FBI agents were marching in the neighbourhood.
“Not sure what they were doing,” he noted.
Read reports, including interviews with the shooting survivors and relatives of victims, from the
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel here.
AP reports: Police in Wisconsin have evacuated homes in a
Milwaukee suburb northeast of the Sikh temple where an unknown gunman
killed six on 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. They appeared focussed on one house.
FBI agents were on the scene with an armored truck, a trailer
and other vehicles. Milwaukee County sheriff’s spokeswoman Fran
McLaughlin says the department’s bomb squad is also on the scene, but she has no details on why the unit was called.
The lone gunman killed six people and critically wounded three at a
gurdwara during Sunday services before police shot him dead. The attack
is being treated as domestic terrorism, police said.
The gunman opened fire when he entered the kitchen at the Sikh Temple
of Wisconsin in suburban Milwaukee at about 10:30 a.m. CDT (1530 GMT)
as women were preparing a Sunday meal, witnesses said. They described
the shooter as a white man.
‘Shooter had 9/11 tattoo’
The lone gunman who killed six Sikhs at the gurdwara had a 9/11 tattoo, according to one of those who were present at the scene.
In the immediate aftermath of the September 11 terror attacks in the US, there were reports of several random attacks on Sikhs, evidently because – as Reuters reported - turban-wearing Sikhs were mistaken for Muslims, particularly after pictures of a turbaned Osama bin Laden were flashed on television.
President Barack Obama has responded to the shooting. In a statement, Obama said:
“Michelle and I were deeply saddened to learn of the shooting
that tragically took so many lives in Wisconsin. At this difficult time,
the people of Oak Creek must
know that the American people have them in our thoughts and prayers,
and our hearts go out to the families and friends of those who were
killed and wounded. My administration will provide whatever support is
necessary to the officials who are responding to this tragic shooting
and moving forward with an investigation. 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.
Republican presidential candidate
Mitt Romney too called it a “senseless act of violence.” In a statement, Romney said:
“Ann and I extend our thoughts and prayers to the victims of
today’s shooting in Wisconsin. This was a senseless act of violence and a
tragedy that should never befall any house
of worship. Our hearts are with the victims, their families, and the
entire Oak Creek Sikh community. We join Americans everywhere in
mourning those who lost their lives and in prayer for healing in the
difficult days ahead.”
Being treated as domestic terrorism
Reuters reported earlier: A gunman killed six people
and critically wounded three at a Sikh temple during Sunday services
before police shot him dead, and the attack is being treated as domestic
terrorism, police said.
The gunman opened fire when he entered the kitchen at the Sikh Temple
of Wisconsin in suburban Milwaukee at about 10:30 a.m. CDT (1530 GMT)
as women were preparing a Sunday meal, witnesses said. They described
the shooter as a white man.
Turban-wearing Sikhs are often mistaken for Muslims,
and the Federal Bureau of Investigation is overseeing the probe into
shootings, Oak Creek Police Chief John Edwards said. ”We’re treating
this as a domestic terrorist incident,” he told reporters.
Four people were shot dead inside the sprawling temple. Three, including the gunman, were killed outside.
The gunman ambushed and shot a police officer several times when he responded to a 911 call and was helping a shooting victim, Edwards said.
A second officer shot the gunman dead. Edwards had no identification
of the shooter or what kind of weapon or weapons he had. The wounded
officer, a 20-year veteran, was taken to a hospital and is expected to
survive, he said.
The Oak Creek shooting is the latest in a series of gun rampages in the suburban United States.
The shooting came little more than two weeks after a gunman opened
fire at a theater in Aurora, Colorado, killing 12 people and wounding
58. In January 2011, then-congresswomen Gabrielle Giffords was the
target of an assassination attempt in which six people were killed and
13 were wounded.
“The gunman is worse than the one at the theater a couple of weeks ago because he targeted an entire community,” said temple member Jagatjit Sidhu.
He was among dozens of temple members and onlookers who gathered in a
parking lot near the temple after police sealed the building off.
Lone gunman
Witnesses at the temple had said there was more than one gunman, but
Edwards said reports of multiple gunmen were common in incidents that
involved only one shooter.
“We believe there was one but we can’t be sure,” he said.
Officers finished sweeping the temple only after hours of searching, and
Edwards said the investigation was just starting.
President Barack Obama said he was “deeply saddened” and pledged his
administration’s commitment to fully investigate the shooting.
Obama was briefed by counterterrorism adviser John Brennan and FBI director Bob Mueller and told the situation at the temple was “under control.”
“The president said that he wanted to make sure that as
we denounce this senseless act of violence we also underscore how much
our country has been enriched by our Sikh community,” the White House said in a statement.
The Indian embassy in Washington said it was in touch with the
National Security Council about the shooting and an Indian diplomat had
been sent to the Sikh temple in Wisconsin.
Milwaukee’s Froedtert Hospital said three men had been brought in
wounded and were in critical condition. One had been shot in the
abdomen, one in the extremities and face, and a third was hit in the
neck.
Sikhs in the US
The Sikh faith is the fifth-largest in the world, with more than 30
million followers. It includes belief in one God and that the goal of
life is to lead an exemplary existence.
The temple in Oak Creek was founded in October 1997 and has a
congregation of 350 to 400 people. There are an estimated 500,000 or
more Sikhs in the United States.
Since the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001 by Islamist militants, Sikhs have sometimes been confused publicly with Muslims because of their turban headdress and beards.
In September 2001, a Sikh gas station owner in Mesa, Arizona, was shot dead by a man who was said to be seeking revenge on Muslims for the hijacked plane attacks on the United States.
Members of the Milwaukee Sikh community complained to police and a
state representative last year about an upturn in robberies and
vandalism at Sikh-owned gas stations and stores.
New York police said they were increasing security at Sikh temples as
a precaution. There are no known threats against temples in the city,
they said in a statement.
Sapreet Kaur, executive director of the Sikh Coalition civil rights organization, said Sikhs had been the target of several hate-crime shootings in the United States in recent years.
“The natural impulse of our community is to unfortunately assume the same in this case,” he said in a statement.
