Investigators are still trying to determine a motive for the Oak Creek, Wisconsin Sikh Temple shooting. Sikhs across the U.S. are worried about their safety.
The shooter has been identified as Wade Michael Page, 40, an Army veteran. According to Army sources, Page enlisted in the arm in 1992 and was given a less-than-honorable discharge in 1998, though details of his discharge have not been confirmed.
Wade left seven people dead and three wounded Sunday when he entered the temple and starting shooting. Those included in the tragic death toll include the temple's founder and president, Satwant Kaleka, 65. According to USA Today his son, Amardeep Kaleka, 34, said Monday morning, "I feel a fire inside me." His mother hid in a closet during the shooting.
Amardeep Kaleka said that his father came to the U.S. in 1982 with $30 in his pocket. He was found with a knife two feet from his body, which shows that he was possibly trying to fight off the shooter. Kakeka said about his father, "My dad has always been a protector. He was a hero yesterday."
The FBI investigation is still very much underway and they are trying to find out what the motive was. Especially since 9/11 this type of terror attack is one that the community has been fearing. "This is something we have been fearing since 9/11, that this kind of incident will take place," said Rajwant Singh, chairman of the Washington-based Sikh Council on Religion and Education to CBS News. "It was a matter of time because there's so much ignorance and people confuse us (as) being members of Taliban or belonging to (Osama) bin Laden."
The Sikh faith has been mistaken for the Muslim faith, resulting in attacks by past assailants. Members have said that the turbans that they wear marks them as an automatic suspect. "That turban has tragically marked us as automatically suspect, perpetually foreign and potentially terrorists," said Valarie Kaur, a filmmaker who has chronicled attacks on Sikhs, told the Associated Press.
According to CNN the Sikh Coalition, a New York based advocacy group reported that more than 700 attacks against Sikhs have occurred since 2001. For example, in September 2001 Balbir Singh Sodhi, an Arizona gas station owner was shot five times and killed by a man who said he wanted revenge against Muslims for 9/11.
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
