Wisconsin shooting ‘act of hatred’: US

Sunday, 12/08/2012

http://epaper.dailypostindia.com/Details.aspx?id=44968&boxid=57437&uid=&dat=2012-08-12

Oak Creek (Wisconsin): The US has admittedthat the Wisconsin gurdwara shooting that killed six Sikhs was an ‘act of hatred.’

It was ‘wrong’ and ‘unacceptable,’ said US Attorney General Eric Holder, addressing hundreds of people gathered at a high school gymnasium here to pay their final respects to those gunned down by a white supremacist on Sunday last.

Holder, who was deputed by US President Barack Obama to attend the memorial last evening, said it was “an act of terrorism; an act of hatred; a crime that is anathema to the founding principles of our nation and to who we are as a people.”In recent years, he said, too many Sikhs have been victimised because of their look.

“Unfortunately, for the Sikh community, this sort of violence has become all too common in recent years,” Holder said referring to the despicable shooting incident, which he said was against the basic fabric of the nation and was an attack on the values of America.

“In the recent past, too many Sikhs have been targeted and victimised simply because of who they are, how they look, and what they believe,” he said and asked Americans to discuss how to change the hearts of those so filled with hate.

We must ask necessary questions of ourselves: what kind of nation do we truly want to have? Will we muster the courage to demand more of those who lead us and, just as importantly, of ourselves? What will we do to prevent that which has brought us here today from occurring in the future?” The memorial was held nearly a week ater Wade Michael Page, 40, an ex-army veteran, went on a shooting spree killing six Sikhs and injuring three others, including a police officer, at the gurdwara here before dying of a self-inflicted gun shot wound.

Family of cop hurt in gurdwara shooting
Washington: The family of the police officer who took nine bullets while taking on the gunman in a shooting incident at a Wisconsin Gurdwara, thanked the Sikh community for their prayers and support.

Lieutenant Brian Murphy and two others, Santokh Singh and Punjab Singh, were admitted to a city hospital, when 40-year-old Wade Michael Page, an ex-army veteran, went on a shooting spree killing six Sikhs on Sunday. Murphy, 51, is in a satisfactory condition. “We are deeply grateful for the outpouring of support and compassion we have received from so many people during this difficult time for our family, and especially thank the Sikh community.