UPDATE 5:22 EST: In a short press conference Mayor Steve Scaffidi gave a statement expressing the outrage the city feels at the senseless violence.
FBI will be handling the case as a domestic terrorism incident. The official causality tally is seven dead, including the shooter, and three wounded.
The first officer on the scene was critically wounded and a second officer opened fire on the shooter and killed him. There has been no official information released on the shooter. There is no indication of a second shooter and early reports of such were most likely a result of multiple reports from different people on the scene. There has been no official report on the number or type of weapons used.
There will be a 10 AM CDT press conference.
Number for friends and family ONLY to call 888-298-1964
Update 4:30 EDT: The Temple has been cleared and no second shooter has been found. No further dead or wounded. The police have delayed the press conference for a shirt time.
UPDATE 2:50 EDT: Tactical units have identified 4 dead inside and 3 dead outside, one is the shooter. So far the police have not been able to identify if there was a second shooter. The police will have an official statement at 3:30 PM CDT
Earlier this morning, at least one gunman entered a Sikh (pronounced Seek) Temple, in Oak Creek, Wisconsin and opened fire. There is a dearth of information at this time.
What we do know, fire was exchanged between the police and an unknown shooter. The shooter was killed and one officer was hit multiple times. He is expected to survive.
Three victims are currently in the hospital. One is in surgery, one is out of surgery and one is being assessed. All are in critical condition, male and adult.
There appears to be people still trapped in the Temple and possibly more gunmen keeping them hostage. The police are performing tactical maneuvers both in and outside the building. The building itself is large enough that concelament and ambush is a consideration.
It also appears that the police are shutting down the utilities to the building which would suggest either a hostage situation or damage from gunfire.
Tentative reports suggest that there are, indeed, multiple shooters and that they are Caucasian.
Pure speculation on my part. Sikhs are often confused for Muslims. There were numerous attacks on Sikhs during the post 9/11 freak out. If this turns out to be some kind of “pre-emptive strike” against Sharia, I don’t even have the words to describe the fall-out.
UPDATE: Tactical units have identified 4 dead inside and 3 dead outside, one is the shooter. So far the police have not been able to identify if there was a second shooter. The police will have an official statement at 3:30 PM CDT
We should be ashamed of ourselves as a people. We don’t have the courage or intelligence for putting in place more appropriate gun control (EVEN if it would not have prevented or made more difficult this incident). We ARE stupid, and will not acknowledge just how stupid we are about violence and guns. Can’t even attempt to solve a problem without first recognizing one exists. And Republicans – you shut the f up; you are absolutely clueless and worthless in situations like these.
We are most likely doomed as a species. We have become a cancer on the earth. My soul grieves for this. We need to turn this around before it is too late, if it’s not already too late.
“this darkness got to give…” -Grateful Dead
My heart goes out to the members of the Sikh temple, the families and friends of the slain people. It is time in this nation for the protection of all from guns and violence. My deepest condolences.
Ed, couldn’t agree with you more.
First off, my sincere condolensces for the wounded and their family. May the shooter/shooters rot in Hell, and I mean that. My second point is, how in the world can you guys honestly think gun control is the solution to this problem?! No witty wording here, just a straight honest to God question. How can you, with a straight face, advocate disarming the public as a solution to violence?! I boxed before suffering sport stopping injuries, and I can tell you dropping your guard during a fight is a one way ticket to KO town. Im assuming none of you own a gun for consistency, so what exactly would you do if someone broke into your home late at night with the worst of intentions?