The Sikh commumity and their supporters are calling for stronger hate crime laws and more religious tolerance, in light of Sunday’s shootings that led to seven deathsat the Sikh Temple in Oak Creek.
Police aren’t yet saying why a gunman apparently opened fire at the temple.Law enforcement says an Oak Creek police officer later killed the gunman during a confrontation.The fact that the shootingsof members of the Sikh community took place at a house of worship causes extra pain for Kavneet Singh.
He is managing director of the Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund. He says Sikhs were the targets of violence in two other incidents in the U.S. this year, and his group has been calling for stronger hate crime laws to help police pursue those and other cases.Sikhs are not Muslims, but a Muslim group, the Council on American-Islamic Relations says anti-Muslim bigots often mistake for Sikhs for Muslims and attack Sikhs. Council spokesman Ibrahim Hoopersays he hopes yesterday’s shootings ends the demonization of people.
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The FBI said last night that it’s investigating whether the Sikh Temple shootings might be an act of domestic terrorism. more information is expected at a news conference this morning in Oak Creek.
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