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Subscribe to RSSAt a public memorial service for the victims of the shooting rampage in a Sikh temple, children and grandchildren of the dead spoke on behalf of their families. Six died when a gunman, identified by police as Wade Michael Page, burst into the temple Sunday morning. NBC's John Yang reports.
Updated at 2 p.m. ET: As prayer, music and chanting filled the building, hundreds streamed into an Oak Creek, Wis., gymnasium Friday morning to pay their final respects to the woman and five men killed when a gunman opened fire at a Sikh temple in the community last weekend.
Non-Sikhs wearing kerchiefs on their heads and Sikhs alike marched together in neat rows, with some of them stopping at times to embrace one another and exchange a few words. A priest spoke and recited prayers in the native Indian Punjabi.
"Today we mourn with you, we pray with you and we support you,” Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker told those gathered.
Walker praised the Sikhs' "peaceful faith" and their reaction following the shootings, saying they had shown that the best way to respond to the violence is with love.
"No matter what country your ancestors come from, no matter where you worship, no matter where you’re from, as Americans, we are one,” he said.
Darren Hauck / Getty Images
Two women hug as community members pay respects to the victims in the mass shooting at the Sikh Temple of Wisconsin, at the Oak Creek High School on Friday.
Walker was joined by U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder at the memorial service. Holder told mourners: "Last Sunday morning, this community witnessed the very worst of human kind. But for every minute, every hour, and every day since then, you have exemplified and inspired the very best in who we are."
Holder said he attended the memorial "with a heavy heart" on behalf of President Barack Obama and all Americans.
In a tradition to honor the dead, priests will begin a process known as Akhand Path, a reading of the entire Sikh holy book, which is expected to take about 48 hours, the BBC reported.
"We want to pay homage to the spirits who are still in there," Harpreet Singh, the nephew of one of the victims, told the BBC.
As visitors -- including several police officers -- moved toward the seats, passing six caskets, a projection screen showed photos of those killed Sunday at the Oak Creek Sikh temple.
On Thursday, Sikhs were allowed to return to their temple for the first time since the shootings. Members have spent the last day painting walls and replacing blood-stained carpet.
Sikh leaders allowed to return to temple four days after shooting
Religious leaders and parishioners keep searching for answers following the Sunday tragedy. FBI Special Agent in Charge Teresa Carlson said during a Wednesday news conference that investigators have not yet "clearly defined a motive."
Wade Michael Page was identified Monday by authorities as the sole shooter. Authorities said the 40-year-old former Army sergeant and white supremacist entered the temple armed with a 9mm semiautomatic handgun. The FBI said Page died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head after he was shot by police.
The temple's leader told NBCChicago.com he hoped Indian-owned businesses around the world would close Friday in the victims' memory.
NBC News
Community members gather Friday for a memorial service for six people killed in the shooting at a Sikh temple in suburban Milwaukee.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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We are sorry some of us are so blind.
I Think Its SICKENING, What these NUTS are Doing to ALL Aspects Of OUR LIVES! Religion,Entertainment and Travel! BUNCHA Goddamn COWARDS!
Studio -- what do religion, entertainment, and travel have to do with each other or what happened at the temple? This was not a religious issue as far as I've heard. Seems more like the logical extreme of what someone who believes in no God might do under certain circumstances...
Sorry, Jo, not buying it! If this was just a militant atheist--as you're pretty clearly claiming--why didn't he hit any of the churches in the area? I'm sure there were a few there for him to shoot up...
You tell me Cat. All I know about this thing is what I have read, and I have not read anything about any religious or atheist agenda by the shooter. I have no idea why he didn't shoot up churches, do you? All I have read is that he has neo-Nazi tendencies and affiliations, and that is not based in any legitimate religion of which I am aware. You can speculate all you want, buy or not buy anything too. I'm not selling, just asked a question and speculating that someone who does not believe in God might be inclined to go to the logical amoral extreme and make up his own morality to fit his own worldview...
Until something definitive is offered, this might be the closet thing to a reasonable explanation for this heinous crime.
We know that he was a neo nazi and anyone following along those lines cannot be playing with a full deck.
My sympathies to all affected by this senseless tragedy.
This hurts my heart. It is so sad that we pride ourselves with being one of the few countries that encourage and protect the freedom of worship but we still oppress others that are different from us. It is sad that someone with values that DO NOT represent or reflect the values of our Armed Forces has yet again tarnished one of our branches. This is a PERFECT example of what ignorance and hate does. I apologize to and pray for my FELLOW AMERICANS that have been devastated by this cruel and brutal act. *It Is Time To Heal*
I don't agree that this shooter in anyway tarnished the Army or military service in general. He was basically dismissed as not a good fit in 1998, 14 years ago. If anything, it was a confirmation that the Army was in the right to get rid of him. The only reason anyone would make this kind of rush to judgement "Yet again tarnished one of our branches" is because our media, drunk on sensationalism, continues to link his military service with his name. His military service had no bearing on his decision to kill innocent people but the hate group he was a member of did. The media might as well mention the high school he went to or any other job he had because they are all about as irrelevant.
SuzStar, Did the military teach him to use a gun and harden his feelings so that shooting a gun was simply target practice and not murder??????? Just asking......
9mm don't take a lot of training to fire, especially at that range. Given the guys white supremacist, his feelings were probably pretty hardened before he went in. A disshonarable discharge says the arm didn't approve of him. I got my grudge against the millitary but this guy ain't part of it.
I offer my condolences to the people that lost family members and friends at the temple that day. Also, wish a speedy recovery for those that were hurt.
This guy in no way tarnishes the military. He has been out 14 years and they discharged him as unfit. He is just another crazy loon- a so called skin head. I have seen many on TV and they seem dumber than a box of rocks. However, you don't need to be smart to hate and kill people.
I am so very sorry this had to happen to the Sikh community. This is such a travesty to have this happen and in your holy place of worship. It is so unbelievable that pure ignorance, builds such hate in people. If people would only stop and educate themselves, most of the “haters” of this world would find that they so uneducated to the people of the world. This mind set that, “my God is better than your God”, is absolutely ridiculous on every level of reasoning. I am Gods eyes, I am Gods hands, I am Gods voice, I am Gods love, I am Gods compassion, I am Gods empathy, I am Gods values, I am Gods morals, I am Gods heart, I am Gods soul; I am suppose to spread all the good of God in my life. Almost every single religion in this entire world, spreads that message. Where is your God if you are spreading and spewing hate?!?!?!?
This is such an amazing comment. thank you
Moved!
outstanding sentiment kim. thank you
Domestic terrorists and their enablers are the real threat to this country. Why do we not send the drones after them?
You ask that as if it's not already happening!
My condolences to the deceased.
""No matter what country your ancestors come from, no matter where you worship, no matter where you’re from, as Americans, we are one,” he said." (quoted from Gov. Walker).
I agree with him. It is the First Amendment that makes us, USA, great. And this First Amendment has guaranteed us to have the freedom of expression, in terms of whom we marry, or not marry, for whom we vote, what we can say, not death threat, what and where we can worship . . . It is the First Amendment that we have all the freedom to exercise our freedom of speech and expression.
The First Amendment is our protection, not just from the extremists but also from the dictatorial government.
But its the second amendment that is destroying us...
Its not the second amendment that is destroying us, it's the refusal to vigorously enforce the multitude of laws regarding use of firearms already on the books. Politicians pander to the people by proposing an ever increasing litany of gun laws because it makes them appear progressive and effective. Making provision for enforcing those laws is bad politics though... Send to many people to jail. Fact is, a lot of people should begin jail, but politicians by and large fear the appearance of a police state, so they look aside and blame other factors instead of actually doing something about dangerous criminals. The vast majority of fun owners are responsible and make our nation a safer and better place to live. With any freedom comes risk of abuse.
Imagine, only 6 posts in 2 hours... Where are all the haters now???
It's a very sad situation and my respects go out to those that lost their lives unnecessarily.
Yet another hater that flipped his lid...
They are all over on the vine about Obama's 9-point national lead and spouting off on the bendy Olympians vine as well. Don't worry, I am sure they will find there way here eventually; not like them to get lost on the way to a Muslim bashing session.
I was waiting for the disparaging comments about Holder, actually. Where are the comments blaming it on Obama as some big conspiracy cooked up to take our guns away.
Haters: OBAMA EASED GUN LAWS, OR DIDN'T YOU KNOW that you can now bring loaded guns into the national parks ?
Yeah, but Bill, see, that's a fact, and they don't cotton to facts when it comes to the N!@@er in the White House...
I am so sorry to the Sikh community, my heart breaks for all of you. It doesn't say much for America when any lunatic can buy a gun and cause such destruction in innocent people's lives. I wish you all peace and comfort.
People that kill others in this manner clearly are not rational, more animal than human - and this one wasn't very bright - the killing of these innocents being a case of mistaken identity. Killing for reasons of race, color, religion or political doctrine is heinous and almost always the act of a coward - just like this scum.
I for one am pleased he was dispatched at the scene and not given the chance to waste our tax money defending him.
Chuck,
How do you know that this was a case of mistaken identity?
A few days ago there was a story about this tragedy and people were insinuating that this guy didn't know the difference between a Muslim and a Sikh. Does anyone know this to be true?
There are many Americans who are not happy with the number of jobs that have gone to India. Perhaps this was motivation.
I am certainly not rationalizing his actions but perhaps people of the Indian culture WERE the intended target.
They were non-white non-Christians. That's why they were "selected." Those was all the criteria he needed.
Severed,
Or simply put they were "different". Too many fear what is different.
True indeed--we've already had plenty of people on the vine here basically saying that while they're sorry it happened, the Sikhs should "assimilate", which is code-speak for not being Sikhs anymore...
He was no Christian.
Why did they let Scott Walker come. It's his rhetoric and all the other haters of non-white, non-Christian, non-filthy rich people that causes these shootings. IT'S TIME TO SAY ENOUGH AND TELL THE TRUTH!
Get a frigging life.
Yessir. Bet you won't see Bachmann at the memorials. She and others like her should just dig their head into a hole like an ostrich.
Libby, I have nothing but utter contempt for Scott Walker, but in this case he handled the matter well, as did Holder. Every once in a while, I like to think I can set aside partisanship, and would like to think (foolishly, perhaps) that maybe this incident will finally rouse Walker to start using a few brain cells and start thinking twice about what his partisan brethren are pushing in the body politic...
I mourn with the Sikh community. The Sikh religion seeks nothing but peace. Hopefully, the rest of us in the Christian community can start to practice what we preach. "Judge not, and we will not be judged." Judgment breeds contempt and contempt breeds violence. Learn to educate yourself about people and groups you do not understand. Don't judge simply because others look and act different than you.
Acceptance of others is what makes this country great. Bigotry and hatred tears us apart.
Religion tears us apart. Every time you tell yourself that what you believe in is the truth and that what others believe in is false, you are judging them and creating a rift. No matter how tolerant and accepting you think your brand of religion is, you are still failing to see others as purely human when you honestly believe that the way they choose to live their lives is incorrect.
Human - it is arrogance that tears us apart. The arrogance that 'my religion is true - yours isn't' or 'my skin color is better than yours' or 'my rationality is better than your faith'. People will use whatever excuse they can to get their own way. The major religions ALL teach tolerance. People ignore or twist it.
I wish everyone involved peace and healing.
Hate, destruction and ignorance is easy. Loving, building and understanding takes strength and thought.
My heart hurts for these people. If I didn't live on the other side of the country I too would have paid my respects to these peaceful victims. This almost makes me ashamed to be a human being knowing that other human beings are capable of such hate. I will pray for them.
Good thoughts and prayers for the Sikh community.
Walker praised the Sikhs' "peaceful faith". Not exactly correct, check out Sikh Golden temple loaded w/arms in 1984, as a result, the Indian government had to attack the place to disarm them, afterwards 2 Sikh bodyguards assisinated Ms. Gandi the PM. There background is not always so peaceful. Do you know they are supposed to still carry knives on them, is this a concern to anybody? I think it would benefit them to blend in more in the USA, we don't need the religious issues India still has over here, as they are very big in 'Sikh' pride. I know this as I work with lots of Indians in the US. Some don't like Sikhs for there past issues and the killing of the Indian PM. Of course the Sikhs say they have always been the victim, who really knows.
These people don't appear to have been a threat to anyone.
And what would this blending in look like? We don't need the religous issues that India has, we have enough of our own. Maybe we can get the Bible thumpers to blend in first and then move on to the next group?
I feel the need to monstorusly flame you but i will keep it clean. Operation Blue Star is what you are reffering to. They were Sikh EXTREMISTS... Just like there are Muslim EXTREMISTS, there are sikh ones. You will find those in EVERY RELIGION in the world... They are supposed to cary knives on them.. only the men as far as i know. But you wont hear of them using it to kill innocents. The violence you WILL find in history is when india and pakistan were partition and hindus were mecilesly massacred and sent back by the TRAINLOADS to india.. via Lahore. The sikhs responded in kind.. for that matter every indian responded. You can carry guns but carrying a CEREMONIAL knife is somehow a dangerous idea?
If this was a church and christians were killed MSNBC would never had run a follow up story.
choirboy.
What a dumb statement. Of course they would have.
You know what makes things bad is the attitude that my faith is better or more important then yours. Are you just upset the some other faith is getting the attention? oh poor you... boo hoo.
The answer to your question of who really knows what they're about: history. You should study it before you imply that the Sikhs are militant killers.
rdingleberry,
What's really sad is so many people can't distinguish the extremists from the larger group. To them if a group of Muslim extremeists kills someone then all Muslims are bad. They will come up with all kinds of statistics so they can blame innocents that share the same faith that have done nothing. I am still shamed by the way America treated the Japanese Americans during WWII, locking up people because they or their descendants were from Japan.
It's scary that people still think that way today.
What has this got to do with this guy killing so many people in the temple...
Way to be ignorant and mislead others. Before you start pointing fingers, know the Sikh history; know what they have been through. Since its foundation Sikhs have been attacked by other religions. Recently after it was founded, Sikhs were attacked by Mughals (muslim army who tried to take control over India.) Later, Sikhs were attacked by the Indian government. Only thing Sikhs demand is equality. Although, Sikhs add up to only 2% of India's poplulation, 67% of the army that fought against the British was Sikhs. Sikhs do not have a special identity in India. They are labeled as Hindus in the Indian Constitution (Article 25, Indian Constitution). Whenever Sikhs raised their voice against the Indian government, they were gunned down. A Sikh warrior named, Jarnail Singh, made people aware of the injustice that was happening to Sikhs and raised his voice against the Indian government, PEACEFULLY. What was the result? Indian government bombed the Sikhs' most holy shrine on earth, Golden Temple. The government's excuse was that Jarnail Singh was hiding there and they bombed the temple to take him out. If this was true, then why did the Indian government attacked 40 other Gurudwaras (temples). Sikhs could NOT tolerate such disrespect and they sent Indira Gandhi to where she belonged. For one deserved assassination, THOUSANDS of Sikhs were burnt alive and women were raped. Since then Sikhs have been seeking justice. Those responsible for the attack on the temple and the Sikh genocide are still living their lives freely. No justice has been done by the Indian government. Every time Sikhs raise their voice, or protest against the Indian government, they get beat up or even killed. Yet, you say Sikhs are violent. About the knife, yes every Sikh who gets 'baptised' has to wear it, but it's not to attack others, its only for self defense. Never in my life did i hear a single incident where a Sikh used his knife to attack another person.
iamsingh: well said
@cgtrav:
And to make the sauce even more piquant, when a "Christian" like Eric Rudolph commits acts of terrorism in the name of Christ, these same people fall all over themselves howling that he wasn't one of them and how dare anyone suggest otherwise...
This is just beyond pathetic. I don't get this world. I just don't.
Operation BlueStar wiki:
Furthermore, it is pointed out that the militants in the temple were armed with machine guns, anti tank missiles and rocket launchers, and that they strongly resisted the army's attempts to dislodge them from the shrine, appearing to have planned for a long stand-off, having arranged for water to be supplied from wells within the temple compound and had stocked food provisions that could have lasted months.
Certainly all Sikhs are not millitants like these in 1984, but this is interesting reading 120,000 Sikhs ready to fight (don't they have day jobs?, would this happen today in the US?):
June 4, 1984The army started bombarding the historic Ramgarhia Bungas, the water tank, and other fortified positions. The army used Ordnance QF 25 pounder and achieved the objective of destroying outer defenses laid by General Shabeg Singh. The army then placed tanks and APCs on the road separating the Guru Nanak niwas building, thus forming a wall of iron. About 100 died In pitched battles from both sides.[35]Nearly 50,000 Sikhs gathered in the Golewal village about 25 km from Amritsar to fight the army,30,000 converged from the side of Batala in Gurdaspur district and about 20,000 Sikhs gathered at Chauk Mehta, the headquarters of Damdami Taksal. Another formation of about 20,000 were marching from the side of Harik Patan at confluence of the rivers Sutlej and Beas.The army helicopters spotted the massive movements. General K. Sunderji sent tanks and APCs. Hundreds/thousands of Sikhs are killed at the rendezvous.[36]The artillery and small arms firing stopped for a while, and Gurcharan Singh Tohra, former head of SGPC was sent to negotiate with Bindrawale; however, he is unsuccessful and returns. The firing resumes.
Is this supposed to argue that these people in American deserved to die?
Let me help. With the bitter, antagonistic, demeaning, insulting, inflamatory, caustic, and mean-spirited ranting from the right, it is no surprise that this sort of thing will follow. Get the right-wingers angry enough, and they will respond in kind. Of course not all right-wingers bear responsibility. But the rest of you, you know who you are! Right-wingers in the media, if your goal is to insight retaliation, you have sadly succeeded.
"incite"... insight is something completely different.
Hate has no boundaries and doesn't discriminate, it comes in all forms, shapes, and sizes. A child being taunted at a school because of a disability, a fat person being laughed at, a honest person being ostracized for speaking out in a crowd of dishonest people, a person being threatened because his/her culture and beliefs are different than the majority, innocent people being abused by bullies who want to control them, etc. Hate is universal. Some people are blind and can only see violence as a solution, but is it as simple as that. Perhaps it is the natural way of self preservation when one group feels it is being faded out by other groups. People have to learn to live peacefully among each other without trying to eliminate those who are different. Here in the U.S. we accept people who are different than ourselves, but then we see them not accepting us when we go to their countries. This might be bothersome to some who view this, still violence is not the answer. All people all over the world are going to have to become more tolerant of those different from themselves or hate will never end nor will the events like what happened here.
Nice deflection, Linda! Sorry, hon, this isn't about the rest of the world--this is about something that happened right here! It wasn't in any other country that the wackjob in question shot up a Sikh temple--IT. WAS. RIGHT. HERE. Whatever problems may or may not exist in other nations, this incident incontrovertibly shows that we have our own problems with accepting differences, so your cute little line about us accepting people who are different from us rings very, VERY hollow...
And what would this blending in look like? We don't need the religous issues that India has, we have enough of our own. Maybe we can get the Bible thumpers to blend in first and then move on to the next group?
And what religions in the US are killing others? How did I miss the headlines, or do you just babble on and on? The blending would be to look more like us, remove turbin would be a start, ever seen a muslim women in the store and all you could see was her eyes, we have, and in todays world it's a bit uneasy, not by what we have done but those 'like' them, and you wonder what is really under the black garb. And if you want to be honest who's the most vile group in the Us, it's the LBGT group which denies other people their 1st amendment rights of free/religious speech. Try griping about that.
Yeah, there were a bunch of gays taking away my free-speech rights just yesterday! Oh, wait, they didn't. You're just spewing talking-point bullsh!t again...
And just why the hell should the Sikhs or anyone else have to dress to satisfy your twisted little way of looking at the world, huh sammy? I'd say myself that if you're wondering what Muslim women wear under their clothes, that maybe the local cops need to keep an eye on you. Pervert much?...
why not send a check to the NRA in the memory of these victims?
With your logic then lets send checks to the thousands of Mexicans and some Americans who have had family members murdered by the Fast and Furious scandal.
Eric Holder should have been the LAST person to show up to that memorial service.
Right after Walker, kiddo...
My condolences to everyone effected by this horrible act of ignorance and hate.
Just be happy the guy killed himself, otherwise we would have to pay for his meals as long as he lived, just like in Arizona. Stop the ignorance comments, he did just what he wanted to do, what he needed to live by was the commandment 'thou shall not kill', but then noboby wants the Christian worldview anymore, without it you get what you got. Just listen to all the negative comments about the religion on the Found Fathers, you all kill with your words, it actually stronger than guns and knives. One of the smallest parts on the body, but who can control it.
This kind of "domestic terrorism" contradicts what the US preaches worldwide. This out of the blue tragedy is parallel to 9/11 - innocent victims. Why? One of the probable answers is Wild Wild West is alive and working! Or, the assassin mistook the targets for black bears; he must be color blind. Another assumption is: That's American Life, and "survival of the fittest" like the killers of Jesus who were treated as heroes. Once again, Jesus killers must have been "reincarnating" to continue committing anti-Christ sins including hatred and murders while creating Jesus-like persons (but not "Son of God" and His direct messengers). Is there any possible stopping to such nefarious activities in the "Dreamland"? God is not blind, deaf, and dumb. Everyone is accountable to Him, no matter what?
Yeah Eric Holder calls this murderer a terrorist and yet that muslem bastard in Ft. Hood he tries to EXPLAIN. What a sick son of a bitch. And he is supposed to be American and our Attorney General. He SHOULD be in prison for his contempt of Congress. Right along with the FRAUDULENT President we have and NOBODY will do anything about,.............until this November.
Yeah right. Sikhs resemble Muslims (to racists at least) and then a single Muslim murderer went unhinged at Ft. Hood, so Obama and Holder belong in prison and presumably had THIS unhinged murderer deserves sainthood, right? I certainly feel for the families and loved ones of the Ft. Hood victims. Do YOU feel for the families and friends of THESE victims? Or do they look too much like Muslims for you to care? And if they HAD BEEN Muslims, would you feel they somehow "deserved" it? Probably.