US gurdwara holds its first Sunday service since attack
Monday, 13/08/2012
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More than 100 people gathered at the Oak Creek gurdwara, which saw the killing of six Sikhs by a white supremacist on August 5, for the first Sunday service since the tragedy, as members chanted hymns and prayers for the victims.
Members of the Sikh community prayed for the six worshippers who were killed in the shooting inside the gurdwara last Sunday.
They also prayed for the quick recovery of the three persons who were injured in the incident, including the police officer who fought the neo-Nazi gunman.
Wade Michael Page, 40, an ex-army veteran, went on a shooting spree killing six Sikhs and injuring three other persons, including a police officer, at the gurdwara here last Sunday before dying of a selfinflicted gun shot wound.
Those attending the Sunday service said the ceremony involved cleaning up the pole with a flag on top ( Nishansahib). The flag was to be raised from half-mast back to full-mast.
The service included devotional hymns and prayers. The Guru Granth Sahib had been read in its entirety over the past three days. Women sang hymns as a group lowered the flag pole outside the gurdwara.
The pole, which was covered with orange cloth, was f i rst removed by about 50 men and boys. Thereafter, it was washed with water and milk. It was finally wrapped with a new orange cloth.
The gurdwara was opened for the public on Friday, with over 100 community members returning to clean it ahead of the funeral. Members on Friday had decided that a lone bullet hole in a metal door-frame at the gurdwara will remain there as a poignant reminder of the tragedy.
Hundreds of mourners had gathered on Friday inside the Oak Creek High School gymnasium for the funeral and memorial service of the victims.
TIMELY TREATMENT COULD HAVE PREVENTED ATTACKS: EXPERTS
The gunmen involved in many of the mass shootings in the US in recent years, including the one in the gurdwara here, displayed clear signs of psychotic behaviour, and had they been treated, the disasters might have been avoided, experts say.
Wade Michael Page was a heavy drinker who was so unstable after his girlfriend broke up with him years earlier that his friends feared he had committed suicide.
