"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
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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.
