Alderman: 'Sikh Community has Blended in with First District'

Dan Jakubczyk knew something was ‘off’ when he heard sirens from several emergency vehicles driving into the area Sunday morning after church.

The Oak Creek alderman, however, had no idea just how dire a situation was unfolding in his very own district.

He received a phone call from Mayor Steve Scaffidi around 11:45 a.m. informing him of the mass shooting at the , and then watched the rest of the events and details emerge on television.

“My first reaction was Oak Creek was going to make the national news that evening and it wasn’t going to be in a good way,” Jakubczyk said after the Sikh shooting press conference in the city’s courtroom Monday. “It was upsetting. This is not the way you want your community featured on the evening news.”

Jakubczyk said he’s had no complaints about the Sikh temple since it was erected in 2007, and that the only issue the city had – a rain runoff concern during the construction phase of the building – was resolved immediately.

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“That was the only contact I had with them,” Jakubczyk said. “After that I had no contact, no complaints. The Sikh community has blended in with the first district like they weren’t even there. They have been good residents of the city of Oak Creek.”

Jakubczyk praised the efforts of the city’s police and fire chiefs, John Edwards and Tom Rosandich, their respective departments and the departments of other municipalities that responded Sunday and offered a helping hand from as the district’s alderperson.

“I think all your first responders are pretty much schooled in what’s going to happen when something like this happens,” he said. “Even though you never think it’s going to happen in Oak Creek, there is always that possibility.

“I want to share my sympathy with the Sikh community for their tragic loss of life. Whatever the city and the district can do we will do to correct this tragedy.”

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