Oak Creek:
Mourners began paying their final respects Friday to six worshipers gunned down by a white supremacist at a Sikh temple in the U.S. almost a week ago for reasons that still aren't clear.
A day after members were allowed back into the Sikh Temple of Wisconsin for the first time since Sunday's attack, the country's top lawyer, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, and Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker were scheduled to speak. Then a series of priests will read the Sikh holy book from cover to cover in a rite honoring the dead called "Akhand Path." It takes 48
hours.
"We want to pay homage to the spirits who are still in there," said Harpreet Singh, a nephew of one of the victims.
Hundreds of mourners, many of them Indian-American, milled through a school gymnasium and by the six caskets to the sound of chanting as images of the victims were projected on a large screen. The mourners greeted victims' family members with hugs.
Federal investigators might never know for certain why 40-year-old Wade Michael Page chose to attack strangers. The Army veteran opened fire with a 9 mm pistol, killing five men and one woman and injuring two other men.
The dead included Satwant Singh Kaleka, 65, the temple president, who was shot as he tried to fend off Page with a butter knife.
Authorities say he ambushed the first police officer who responded, shooting him nine times. A second officer shot Page in the stomach, and Page killed himself with a shot to the head.
The officer who was injured, Oak Creek Police Lt. Brian Murphy, was upgraded Thursday to satisfactory condition.
The others killed:
- Ranjit Singh, 49, and his 41-year-old brother, Sita Singh, two priests whose families were back in India and whose lives in America revolved around their faith.
- Suveg Singh Khattra, 84, a former farmer in India who was a constant presence at the temple.
- Prakash Singh, 39, a priest who was remembered as fun-loving and who enjoyed telling jokes.
- Paramjit Kaur, 41 who worked 66 hours a week to provide for her family but found time to pray every day for at least an hour.
The FBI roped off the temple for four days while agents conducted their investigation. They handed the keys back to Sikh leaders Thursday morning. Workers spent repairing bullet damage, shampooing blood-stained carpets and repainting walls.
One bullet hole in a doorway leading to the main prayer hall was left unrepaired as a memorial to the shooting victims.
Kuldeep Chahal, 35, a teacher from Toronto, arrived at the temple with several others after driving 12 hours. Chahal brought banners and cards that temple members in Canada had signed for families of the victims.
"The reason we came down is because we definitely want to show the community how much we support them," Chahal said.