Crime & Safety

FBI Announces End of Temple Shooting Investigation

Authorities say attack was not directed by a white supremacist group or part of ongoing threat to Sikh community.

The FBI has announced the end of its investigation into the Aug. 5 shootings at the Sikh Temple of Wisconsin, but the questions likely won't be going away.

After 300 interviews, 200 leads and more than 200 pieces of evidence, the investigation did not turn up any evidence that Wade Michael Page's attack was facilitated by a white supremacist group or that it was part of an ongoing threat to the Sikh community, officials said in a statement released Tuesday.

Patch's media partners at Fox 6 reported Tuesday that Page had contact with the Sikh temple on the Thursday before the shooting, asking what the Sikh community was all about. A woman welcomed Page into the temple and even offered him something to eat, according to the report.

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Page came back on Sunday and killed six temple members and wounded four others before he was shot in the parking lot by an Oak Creek police officer. He then died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

The FBI briefed victims and family members on the investigation's conclusion Friday.

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"We join the Sikh community in grieving the loss of their loved ones," FBI Special Agent in Charge Teresa Carlson said in the statement. "We continue to work with temple leaders and all of our law enforcement partners in an effort to keep the community safe."

Page, 40, was an Army veteran with a history of involvement in white supremacist groups. He moved around the country a lot and is believed to have ended up in the Milwaukee area because of a girlfriend, who broke up with him shortly before the rampage.

While his white supremacist ties are well-documented, his motive for entering that temple on that day may never be known.

Amardeep Kaleka, whose father was killed in the attack, said the end of the investigation brought some closure but also left many questions unanswered.

"They really didn't shed any new light on the subject β€” they just kind of covered what was already known," he said.

"We as a congregation also understand that no matter what they tell us, there will always be questions as to how this happened and why."

Prakash Singh, Sita Singh, Ranjit Singh, Satwant Singh Kaleka, Paramjit Kaur and Suveg Singh were killed in the attack, which began about 10:25 a.m.

Santokh Singh, Punjab Singh, Amarjit Kaur and Police Lt. Brian Murphy were wounded.

Page shot Murphy 12 times before a second officer, Sam Lenda, arrived and delivered the shot that sent the gunman to the ground.

Kaleka said he and his brother, Pardeep, are determined to help prevent another incident from happening elsewhere.

"We probably think about this situation more than anybody on this planet. We are so affected," he said. "Me and my brother have vowed to try to figure it out and try to help the nation move forward so that this never happens again."


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