Question One:

What is the background to the Neo-Nazi Wisconsin Sikh Temple Shooting in 2012?

Brian Murphy described the day to be a “beautiful Sunday morning, the kind that you hope for”.1 Sikh Temple members including women and children, were reading scriptures and preparing food for the communal lunch called a langar which is offered to the community regardless of their religious beliefs.2 Many Sikhs in the United States worship on Sundays at a Gurdwara, temple. Singing and meditation in a prayer room is part of a typical Sikh service.
According to the Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund, the United States is home to an estimated 700,000 Sikhs, majority of which have an Indian origin. Sikhism is the fifth largest organised …show more content…
Worried and fearing for their life, many thought that victims were being held hostage by several shooters inside the temple. Police in tactical gear carrying assault rifles surround the temple, with ambulances and armoured vehicles outside.
Page first started firing outside the temple in the parking lot, killing at least one person. He then made his way into the temple and continued on his wild rampage, according to witnesses. In the temple kitchen, a group of 16 women were preparing a meal for the langar when Page entered and started shooting. As the women fled to the panty for cover, one of the woman felt two bullets fly by her, one wounding her foot. 4

Outside the temple when officer Brian Murphy first arrived he saw two men laying on the ground, as he walked over to tend to the victims he knew that at least one of them was dead. Murphy witnessed Page running from the building to then he held his gun and identified himself as the police and told Page to ‘stop’. “Thats when he hit me in the face”, Murphy says. Page shot Murphy several times and suffered nine gunshot wounds. Murphy was left in critical condition to which he underwent surgery and was expected to survive. When the other squad cars showed up they fired at Page. Police initially thought Page was shot in the stomach and killed by another officer, but officials later releveled in …show more content…
Page passed all of the necessary background checks and the shop owner Kevin Nugent said “He didn’t have a shaved head or 9/11 tattoo. He didn’t talk stupid or act stupid. He raised no eyebrows whatsoever”. Page was armed with a Springfield XDM 9mm semi automatic pistol at the time of the crime