Accused shooter Wade Michael Page (
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Army vet Wade Michael Page — identified today as the lunatic who slaughtered six innocent Sikh worshippers — had long ties neo-Nazi groups and used music to vent his hate.
Investigators late this afternoon said they spoke to a “person of interest” who was spotted at the Sikh Temple of Wisconsin and didn’t appear to be a temple worshipper.
The muscular white man, who wore a black and red T-shirt, has been cleared of any connection to the murder of six, carried out by Page, according to the FBI.
Page’s bloodbath ended when he was shot to death by an officer.
The six dead were identified as temple president Satwant Singh Kaleka, 65; Sita Singh, 41; Ranjit Singh, 49; Prakash Singh, 39; Paramjit Kaur, 41; and Suveg Singh, 84. Kaur was the only woman of the six dead.
Teresa Carlson, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Milwaukee office, said investigators are closely examining any ties Page had to neo-Nazi groups.
He hadn’t made any threats against the temple prior to yesterday’s bloodshed.
“We are looking at ties to white supremacist groups,” Carlson said.
“We did not have an active investigation on him prior to yesterday. There may be reference to him in various files, those things are being analyzed right now.”
In the years since his Army discharge in 1998, Page was active in the white-power music scene.
As recently as 2010, he was the leader of the band “End Apathy.” In an interview with the white supremacist Web site and record maker Label 56, Page said he enjoyed lyrics about social and religious issues.
“The topics vary from sociological issues, religion and how the value of human life has been degraded by being submissive to tyranny and hypocrisy that we are subjugated to,” he said.
Page told the Web site he got into the white power music business in 2000 and had attended concerts of the hate genre in Georgia, North Carolina, West Virginia and Colorado.
He also claimed to be a member of bands Youngland (2001-2003), Celtic Warrior, Radikahl, Max Resist, Intimidation One, Aggressive Force and Blue Eyed Devils.
“End Apathy began in 2005 and the concept was based on trying to figure out what it would take to actually accomplish positive results in society and what is holding us back,” Page reportedly said in 2010.
“A lot of what I realized at the time was that if we could figure out how to end people’s apathetic ways it would be the start towards moving forward. Of course after that it requires discipline, strict discipline to stay the course in our sick society.”
Even Label 56 disavowed Page’s hate yesterday, and removed any references to End Apathy from its Web site.
“Label 56 is very sorry to hear about the tragedy in Wisconsin and our thoughts are with the families and friends of those who are affected,” according to a statement by Label 56.
“In closing please do not take what Wade did as honorable or respectable and please do not think we are all like that.”
Reps for The Southern Poverty Law Center said Page had been on their radar for years.
Mark Potok, a senior fellow at the nonprofit civil rights group in Montgomery, Ala., called Page a “frustrated neo-Nazi” had been also played in the band Definite Hate.
“The name of the band seems to reflect what he went out and actually did,” Potok said.
Lyrics of these groups often talk about carrying out genocide against Jews and other minorities, according to Potok.
“There is a whole underworld of white supremacists music that is rarely seen or heard by the public,” Potok said.
The 9mm weapon used by Page was legally purchased, officials said today. Authorities claim they know when and where he got the gun.
“We know how it was purchased,” said ATF Agent Bernard Zapor, adding that Page had multiple ammo clips. “We are satisfied we know how it came into the hands of the killer.”
Page also wounded an Oak Creek police officer during his assault yesterday.
Lt. Brian Murphy was shot at least eight times by Page outside the temple, while the heroic cop was tending to a wounded worshipper.
After Murphy, who was wearing his protective vest, was shot, he told his fellow officers to rush into the temple and worry about him later.
The 21-year-old veteran Murphy is intensive care but is expected to survive.
“The first officer on the scene entered in the driveway area and came upon the victim in the parking lot,” Edwards said.
“He exited the vehicles and went to render aid. It was at that point he was met by the suspect, who basically ambushed him around his vehicle.”
Cops approached Page in the temple parking lot, where he fired again at officers.
“And at that point [officer] gave a command to drop his weapon and put his hands up,” Edwards said.
“He did fire, one of our vehicles took some rounds through the windshield. One of the officers did respond with a squad rifle and put that individual down.”
Before yesterday, Page had only a short rap sheet.
He pleaded guilty to driving under the influence in Denver in 1999 but Page never completed his sentence.
He had a blood alcohol more than 1 1/2 times over the legal limit when he hit a sign at an apartment complex on April 27, 1999, according to court records.
The judge suspended a 60 day jail sentence for Page on the condition that he complete a year of alcohol treatment, 56 hours of community service and probation.
He only did 18 hours of service and there’s no record of whether he completed treatment, according to a spokeswoman for the Denver District Attorney’s Office. An arrest warrant was issued in 2000, but was canceled in 2007 when the case was closed.
Page enlisted in April 1992 where he served as a sergeant, an Army public affairs officer said today. Page conducted his initial training at Fort Still, Okla.
The gunman was a Hawk missile system repair specialist and was later assigned to the psychological operations unit in 1994 at Fort Bliss, Texas.
He was last stationed at Fort Bragg, NC, before his administrative discharge in October 1998.
The slain gunman had just moved into his apartment in nearby Cudahy after breaking up with his live-in girlfriend, the landlord told The Post.
The first 911 call was received at 10:35 a.m., and fast police response kept Page from killing even more people, officials said.
“They [responding officers] stopped this from being worse than it could have been,” Edwards said.
Tactical units stormed the temple, found four people dead inside and three outside, including Page.
Ven Boba Ri, one of the temple members, told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel the killer was “not an insider” and called the attack “a hate crime.”
The gunman, he said, walked up and shot a priest who was standing outside, then went inside and opened fire.
“He did not speak, he just began shooting,” said Harpreet Singh, recounting what he was told by his aunt.
Kanwarpdeep Singh Kaleka, a member of the temple, said Page had a 9/11 tattoo on one of his arms. He also told CNN Page seemed to be targeting men wearing turbans, including his uncle, who was wounded.
“Everyone of all faiths are allowed in the temple,” Kaleka said. “It’s unfortunate that someone took advantage of this.”
Sunny Singh, 21, of Milwaukee, said a friend pulled into the temple’s parking lot, heard shots and saw two people fall. The friend then saw Page reload his weapons and head to the temple’s entrance, Singh said.
Gurpreet Kaur, 24, said her mom and 14 other women were preparing a meal for after the service when Page entered the kitchen and opened fire.
Last night, a SWAT team and agents from the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms surrounded a home in nearby Cudahy. They cordoned off the block, and FBI agents were on the scene with an armored truck.
President Obama said: “Our hearts go out to the families and friends of those who were killed and wounded.”
Sikh rights groups have reported a rise in misdirected bias attacks since 9/11, despite their faith being unrelated to the 2001 terrorism.
Observant Sikhs do not cut their hair. Men often cover their heads with turbans and refrain from shaving their beards.
Sikhism is a monotheistic faith that was founded in South Asia more than 500 years ago, with roughly 27 million followers worldwide.
The Washington-based Sikh Coalition has reported more than 700 incidents in the United States since 9/11, which advocates blame on anti-Islamic sentiment, even though Sikhs don’t practice the same religion as Muslims.
Additional reporting by Tom Schalmo in Oak Creek, Wis., and Leonard Greene and Josh Margolin in New York.