By: Newsroom
8@klkntv.com
The police chief of a Wisconsin city where a gunman opened fire at a Sikh temple says the suspect shot the first officer on the scene eight to nine times with a handgun at close range.
Oak Creek Police Chief John Edwards says the suspect ambushed the veteran 51-year-old officer outside the Sikh Temple of Wisconsin on Sunday morning. The gunman was later shot to death by another officer. The wounded officer remains hospitalized in critical condition Monday morning.
Edwards says the officer waved off colleagues who tried to come to his aid outside the temple, telling them instead to go tend to the victims who had been shot inside. The officer is a 20-year veteran who Edwards says was a tactical team leader for years.
Federal officials say the gun used was bought legally and they have no reason to believe anyone but the slain gunman was involved in the shooting.
FBI Special Agent in Charge Teresa Carlson said Monday that officials aren't aware of more threats to the Sikh Temple of Wisconsin in the Milwaukee suburb of Oak Creek.
She says the FBI is investigating the Sunday shooting as a possible act of domestic terrorism but doesn't know a motive at this time. The Southern Poverty Law Center civil rights group has identified gunman Wade Michael Page as a known white supremacist.
ATF Special Agent in Charge Bernard Zapor says Page used a legally purchased 9mm handgun and multiple ammunition magazines in the shooting.
