Wisconsin Sikh Temple Shooting (2012)
Sun Aug 05, 2012
Image: Members of the Akhil Bharatiya Human Rights Organization hold placards and candles during a vigil in Amritsar, India, on Tuesday, August 7th, as they pay tribute to Sikh devotees killed in the U.S. [cnn.com]
On this day in 2012, an American white supremacist committed a mass shooting at the gurdwara (a Sikh temple) in Oak Creek, Wisconsin, killing seven people and wounding four more.
The temple was preparing langar, a Sikh communal meal, for later in the day. Witnesses suggested that women and children would have been at the temple preparing for the meal at the time of the incident, as children's classes were scheduled to begin around the same time.
Despite this, no children were wounded in the shooting. Seven adults, along with the shooter himself, were killed. A Sikh priest, Baba Punjab Singh, was shot in the head and paralyzed for seven years before passing away.
The perpetrator was a white supremacist and U.S. Army veteran who worked in psychological operations. A former friend described him as a "loner" and said he had talked about an "impending racial holy war", and racist tattoos adorned his chest, arms, and hands.
Despite this, Oak Creek Police Chief John Edwards declined to speculate on possible motives, stating "I don't know why, and I don't know that we'll ever know, because when he died, that died with him, what his motive was or what he was thinking." Similarly, the owner of the gun shop where the shooter purchased a weapon in cash said that his presence "raised no eyebrows whatsoever".
- Date: 2012-08-05
- Learn More: en.wikipedia.org, www.npr.org.
- Source: www.apeoplescalendar.org
