Minnesota flags at half-staff in rememberance of the Sikh Temple shootings

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Neighboring Minnesota is showing its support for grieving Wisconsinites in the aftermath of the Sikh Temple shootings in Oak Creek. Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton has ordered flags at state facilities to fly at half-staff until sunset today, in memory of the six worshippers killed last Sunday. Thousands are expected at a visitation and memorial service for the six victims today at Oak Creek High School. It was lengthened from two hours to four, to accommodate mourners who’ve been traveling from other states and countries. It also accommodates U-S Attorney General Eric Holder, who was added yesterday as a speaker. The F-B-I completed its on-site investigation at the Sikh Temple yesterday, and dozens of worshippers returned to the building to help clean it up.

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A former soldier now says he regrets covering up for Wade Michael Page, when the Oak Creek gunman tried to commit suicide in 1997 over the breakup of a girlfriend. Christopher Robillard served with Page in the Army’s psychological operations corps. He said Page was so distraught after his breakup, that he and his friends broke into Page’s apartment to make sure he didn’t kill himself. And sure enough, they found him passed out from alcohol. Robillard tells the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that he and friends kept it quiet at the time – and they should have reported it to authorities. Jennifer Dunn, a psychiatric nurse who lived in Page’s duplex in Cudahy, said it could have been one of dozens of signals that were missed. She told the Journal Sentinel that if anyone had evaluated Page, a quote, “gazillion red flags would have gone off.” Dunn said it was more than obvious that Page had a “huge mental illness.” But she never called police because he never did anything that was dangerous enough to send him to an institution. Earlier reports said Page had a drinking problem that resulted in an Army demotion, and the loss of a job as a commercial truck driver. Today, a visitation and memorial service will be held for the six Sikh Temple members that Page shot-and-killed last Sunday in Oak Creek.

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Dozens of Sikh members cleaned up the temple yesterday where six people were murdered and four others were wounded by gunman Wade Michael Page last Sunday. Amardeep Kaleka said the blood and bullet holes were still there – and it was a haunted atmosphere until the cleanup created a more positive spirit. He called the massacre a “cardiac arrest” and a “watershed moment” for Wisconsin’s Sikh community. Kaleka made his comments at a forum attended by around 200 people last evening at Oak Creek High School. Federal and local authorities organized the public forum to answer questions and provide support for the victims and the community. The Reverend Jesse Jackson showed up at the temple to console Sikh members and pray with them. Men painted walls and cleaned carpets while women prepared a traditional communal meal. Today, thousands of mourners from throughout the U-S and several foreign countries will attend a visitation and memorial service at Oak Creek High School. Representatives from the victims’ families will speak, along with U-S Attorney General Eric Holder. There will also be numerous prayers and hymns. The visitation was supposed to last two hours, but was it extended to four hours because of the high demand. After the service, mourners will return to the temple and start a traditional two-day ceremony to honor the victims’ memories.

Tags: news, minnesota, wisconsin