Wisconsin - At least six persons have been killed and several injured, some
critically by one or more gunmen at the Sikh Temple of Wisconsin, a
gurudwara, in what appeared to be a hate crime in Oak Creek, a quiet
suburb of Milwaukee. (reports said that an "active shooter” killed at scene and 6 others have been killed at the gurudwara).
After news of the shooting broke around mid-day local time, media
reports quoted Lee Biblo, Chief Medical Officer at nearby Froedtert
Hospital, saying that three male adults had been brought into the
operating room in critical condition, with gunshot wounds to abdomen and
the face.
Meanwhile aerial television footage showed at least one body lying near a parking lot outside the gurudwara. A CNN
report quoted Gurcharan Grewal, president of the Sikh Religious Society
of Wisconsin, saying that multiple sources had confirmed that “there
were wounded people still inside the temple and that there may have been
multiple perpetrators.”
Reports also quoted an unnamed member of the Sikh community saying that a
Sikh priest visiting from New Delhi, India, was said to have been shot
at, at the scene of the crime. Even as breaking news indicated that at
least one gunman may still be inside the gurudwara, law enforcement
officers were said to have “returned fire and [a] shooter was put down.”
One police officer was injured in an exchange of fire. Chief Bradley
Wentlandt of the Greenfield, Wisconsin Police said that “multiple rounds were
exchanged and the officer was shot multiple times,” and the shooter was
“presumed deceased.” Mr. Wentlandt however noted that based on
information on police scanners there was still no clear evidence that
there were multiple perpetrators.
While Mr. Biblo said no women or children had been brought into the
hospital yet, Rajwant Singh, Chairman of the Sikh council on Religion
and Education in Washington said that women and children may have been
among those in the gurudwara at the time of the shooting, generally on
site at this time of day to prepare the community meal.
However, other local hospitals reportedly received victims from the
shooting incident too and a full list of potential victims was not yet
available. Amardeep Kaleka who said his father was in the gurudwara at
the time of the attack, said to media outlets that his father had sought
refuge apparently hid in a closet and said to his son on the phone,
“They’re out there.”
Mr. Kaleka added that the police informed him around "26 to 28 people
had been shot", including the head priest who was "bleeding profusely."
Meanwhile the Indian embassy in Washington said that it was "seized of
the situation and has been in touch with the National Security Council
in Washington, D.C." While the Indian Consulate General in Chicago too
has been in "close touch with the local authorities to monitor the
situation," the embassy also noted that an official has been deputed to
visit the site "to ascertain the situation on-the-spot."
Police describe chaotic scene
Authorities were on the scene on Sunday of shootings at the Sikh Temple
near Milwaukee, where police and witnesses described a chaotic situation
with an unknown number of victims, suspects and possible hostages.
Police were called to the Sikh Temple of Wisconsin in the suburb of Oak
Creek on Sunday morning, when witnesses said several dozen people were
gathering for a service. They responded with a dozen ambulances,
although Greenfield Police Chief Bradley Wentlandt said it wasn’t clear
how many people had been shot.
Mr. Wentlandt also said it wasn’t clear how many suspects were involved,
although one opened fire on an officer and the officer “put down” that
man. Wentlandt said the officer was shot multiple times.
Three shooting victims, all men, were taken to Froederdt Hospital in
Milwaukee, the main trauma center for the area, spokeswoman Carolyn
Bellin said. One was in the operating room, another in a surgical
intensive care unit and the third was being evaluated in the emergency
room, she said.
Sukhwindar Nagr, of Racine, said he called his brother-in-law’s phone
and a priest at the temple answered and told him that his brother-in-law
had been shot, along with three priests. The priest also said women and
children were hiding in closets in the temple, Mr. Nagr said.
