OAK CREEK, Wis. — Hundreds of people streamed into a Wisconsin high school yesterday to pay their respects to six worshippers gunned down by a white supremacist at a Sikh temple in suburban Milwaukee.
Mourners, most wearing scarves on their heads in the Sikh tradition, greeted victims’ relatives with hugs at the Oak Creek HS gym.
Flowers adorned the six open caskets, and a large video screen flashed photos of those killed and injured. Sikh singers sang hymns in Punjabi.
US Attorney General Eric Holder applauded the Sikh community’s peaceful response.
“You’ve inspired the best of who we are,” he told the crowd.
Last Sunday, Wade Michael Page, 40, opened fire at the Sikh Temple in Oak Creek, killing six, ages 84 to 39, and wounding three, including a cop, before killing himself.
Violence against Sikhs is becoming too frequent, Holder said yesterday.
“It will not be tolerated,” he said.
Gov. Scott Walker also addressed the crowd.
“Today we mourn with you, we pray with you, we support you,” he said.