Reports: Sikh Temple Shooter Was A White Supremacist, Part Of Growing Trend Of Anti-Sikh Violence


Though police have not yet named a motive in the attack, all but one of those shot were Sikh adherents. The other was a police officer.




In April of this year, over 90 members of Congress signed onto a letter (PDF) asking Attorney General Eric Holder and FBI Director Robert Mueller to closely monitor what they called a “growing concern” of hate crimes against Sikh people:


Though it is the fifth largest religion in the world, Sikhism is a small religious minority in the United States — there are roughly 500,000 observers of the religion, which originated in the Punjab area of South Asia, in the US. There has only been one Sikh member of Congress — Dalip Singh Saund, who represented Southern California in the late 1950s and early 60s.


In a press conference today, Oak Creek law enforcement confirmed that the gunman’s weapon, a 9mm semi-automatic pistol, was obtained legally.