Seven people were killed and at least three were injured on Sunday morning during a shooting at a Sikh temple near Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Multiple 911 calls were placed after a gunman or gunmen opened fire outside the temple in Oak Creek. According to Greenfield Police Chief Brad Wentlandt the first officer on the scene engaged with an active shooter who was “put down.”
Four people were killed inside the temple and three were killed outside, including the shooter.
Police at this time are not sure if the shooter may have been working with an accomplice and three hours after the shooting police officials said “tactical operations” were still in progress. Eyewitnesses at the scene of the crime offered conflicting accounts regarding the number of shooters.
Three male victims from the shooting were rushed to Froedtert Hospital in Milwaukee. According to CBS News :
“Dctors are treating three victims of the shooting. Spokeswoman Carolyn Bellin said the three are all men. One is in the operating room, another is in a surgical intensive care unit, and the third is being evaluated in the emergency room.”
Among the injured was temple president Satwant Kaleka who was shot int he back.
Following the shooting more than one dozen ambulances lined the area around the temple and members of the press were pushed back from the shooting as police continued their investigation.
The White House also announced that President Obama was personally receiving updates over the situation from the FBI.
The Indian Embassy also chimed in, calling the incident “tragic” while noting that they were receiving more information from the national Security Council in Washington, D.C.
Sikh Temple currently hosts more than 400 members.
More information to follow about from the Wisconin shooting as it becomes available.
Boston.com notes that a “Sikh rights groups have reported a rise in bias attacks…reporting more than 700 incidents in the U.S.” since 9/11.
Police are not yet rushing to call the attack a race-based crime.