Local Sikh Community Praying For Victims Of Wisconsin Shooting
PITTSBURGH (KDKA/CBS) -- Members of the local Sikh community say they are praying for the victims of Sunday's shooting at a Sikh Temple near Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
SWAT team officers and several police agencies swarmed the Sikh Temple of Wisconsin Sunday morning after six people were killed and three others were wounded in the shooting.
"Because of the heroic actions of our officers, they stopped this from being worse than it could have been," said Chief John Edwards of the Oak Creek Police Department in Wisconsin.
Witnesses said the shooting started around 10:30 a.m. as worshipers gathered for Sunday morning services.
"There was one guy outside," said one witness. "He just… bang first shot, and he just went inside and I was just hiding."
Witnesses also say the Temple's president was wounded as he tried to confront the suspect.
"The president who tried to like just hold the attacker, but he got shot in the back," said a witness. "So, he is in the hospital for surgery."
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Meanwhile, here in Pittsburgh, members of the Sikh community are thinking about all those touched by the tragedy.
"The first thing that came to my mind was, was that it is a hate crime. Somebody is ignorant about us, you know," said Sucha Singh, of the Tri-State Sikh Cultural Society. "People misidentify us since 9/11. So, we are approaching them to tell them that we are Sikhs, not Muslims."
Singh says the community is praying for peace for the victims and their families.
The Sikh Temple in Monroeville is planning to hold a special service next Sunday to remember the victims.
The FBI is leading the investigation, and is working to determine if the shooting is an act of domestic terrorism.
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