Wisconsin Sikh temple shooting: Oak Creek gunman Wade Michael Page pictured

• Shooter named as Wade Michael Page
• Worked in psychological operations in Fort Bliss and Fort Bragg
• Was previously a missile repair man
  
• Was kicked out of the army in 1998
• Girlfriend Misty was student at University of Milwaukee and has an autistic son
  
• Was killed by police officer after he shot six people at Sikh temple
  
• Victims include temple president Satwant Kaleka, 65, who tried to stop him
  
• Priest Parkash Singh, in his thirties, also killed
  
• Lt Brian Murphy in hospital after being ambushed helping a victim
  
• Three victims in hospital with life-threatening injuries
  

By Laura Pullman, Michael Zennie and Louise Boyle

PUBLISHED: 12:22 EST, 5 August 2012 | UPDATED: 11:01 EST, 6 August 2012

The skinhead former soldier who killed six people and critically wounded three at a Sikh temple yesterday was a frustrated neo-Nazi who had been the leader of a racist white-power band.

Wade Michael Page, who was kicked out of the army in 1998 when he worked at Fort Bragg in Psychological Operations, gave an interview two years ago to white supremacist website Label 56, telling them that he started the band End Apathy because of his wish to 'figure out how to end people's apathetic ways and start moving forward'.

The band's MySpace page says their music is a 'sad commentary on our sick society and the problems that prevent true progress'.

Witnesses said the 40-year-old opened fire just before services, entering the kitchen at the Sikh Temple of Wisconsin in suburban Milwaukee at about 10.30am as women prepared a Sunday meal.

It sent worshippers fleeing to escape the barrage - with many hiding in cupboards and texting the outside world begging for help.

He was finally gunned down by police officer Lt Brian Murphy, 51, who was shot 'eight or nine times' and who is now recovering in hospital.

The six victims - aged between 39 and 83 - have been identified as Bhai Seeta Singh, Bhai Parkash Singh, Bhai Ranjit Singh, Satwant Singh Kaleka, Subegh Singh, Parmjit Kaur Toor.

The injured in hospital are Bhai Punjab Singh - who is in extremely critical condition - and Santokh Singh.

It was confirmed today that Page served in the U.S. army for about six years from 1992 to 1998.

He was given a general discharge in October 1998 and had been demoted from sergeant to specialist during his service. He was deemed ineligible for re-enlistment.

While in the Army, Wade - originally from Colorado - served as a sergeant, and later as a specialist based in Ft Bliss in Texas and at Ft Bragg in North Carolina.

Wade's job was as a Hawk missile system repairman, and he then became a psychological operations specialist, defense officials confirmed to ABC news.

The details of his discharge were not immediately clear.

According to the Examiner, Page was an E4 psychological operations specialist. He was awarded the Army Commendation Medal, Army Achievement Medal, Army Good Conduct award, the National Defense Service Medal, Humanitarian Service Medal and Parachutist Badge.

The group claims that they 'began in 2005 with roots in old school…punk and metal influences'. The group last listed their location as Nashville, North Carolina. Their last login to MySpace was in February 2012.

On MySpace, Wade Michael Page’s alleged music includes songs like 'Self Destruct', 'Insufficient, and 'submission'. He admitted in the 2010 interview that End Apathy was all his own idea and that topics included 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.

The Southern Poverty Law Center, a group that has studied hate crimes for decades, reported today that they had been tracking Page since 2000 when he tried to purchase goods from the National Alliance.

Heidi Beirich, director of the center's intelligence project, told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that there was 'no question' Page was an ardent follower and believer in the white supremacist movement.

She said her center had evidence that he attended 'hate events' around the country and was involved in the scene.

Also on Monday, a volunteer human-rights group called Responsible for Equality And Liberty (R.E.A.L.) found links between Page, his band and a white supremacist website called Stormfront, reported the Journal Sentinel.

He moved to a duplex in the 3700 block of E. Holmes in Cudahy two weeks ago, which was cordoned off for a time on Sunday night as officials investigated inside, and residents were evacuated from their homes.

It is about six miles from the temple where the shooting took place.

Before that he lived in the south of Milwaukee with his girlfriend Misty who was going to the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and has an autistic son.

David Brown, 62, a neighbor who lived in the same apartment building told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that Page was a recluse.

'He was not a friendly guy. He was very quiet. You'd say hi and he'd kind of grunt. It was like he didn't care if you were talking or not.'

He said they moved out about four or five months ago.

A neighbor at his Cudahy duplex told CBS: 'Nobody has really seen him. We heard here and there that they’ve been doing a lot of arguing, between him and another female, but I haven’t seen him.'

The officers came out of the duplex around midnight, carrying large items, according to Cudahy Now.

Police roped off four blocks in a neighborhood with a mix of duplexes and single-family homes as FBI agents descended on Page's home with an armored truck, a trailer and other vehicles.

Other law enforcement officers are there too, along with a police dog, according to TMJ4.

One woman said that the man who lived at that home 'kind of kept to himself'.

'I just remember seeing (a tattoo that said) 9-11. I just remember thinking it was weird, thinking "Why would you have that tattooed on you?"' April Reyna told the station. 

Page is believed to have worked as a truck driver with Granger, Iowa-based Barr-Nunn Transportation, from about April 2006 to August 2010 while living in Fayetteville, North Carolina.

An employee at the company said he left 'involuntarily' but declined to elaborate.

'He had tattoos, I don't know what the exact markings were, or if they represented any of his beliefs or what they stood for,' said Thomas Ahern, of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

Four people were shot dead inside the sprawling temple. Three more, including the gunman, were killed outside.

One victim was the temple's president, 65-year-old Satwant Kaleka who died as he tried to 'knife and tackle' the shooter. Another was Parkash Singh, a priest in his thirties.

Manminder Sethi who worships at the temple, told the Journal-Sentinel: 'He was a good guy, a noble soul.'

Prayers: Indian Sikh devotees pay their respects at the Golden Temple in Amritsar on August 6, 2012. Indian Sikhs, led by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, voiced shock and anger at the killing of worshipers at a Sikh temple in the U.S.

Mr Singh had lived in Oak Creek for several years and recently brought his wife, daughter and son from India to live with him in the U.S.

The gunman ambushed and shot a police officer who was responding to a 911 call and helping a shooting victim, Oak Creek Police Chief John Edwards said. A second officer shot and killed the gunman.

The wounded officer, a 20-year veteran, was taken to a hospital and is expected to survive. Hospital officials said two other victims, also in critical condition, were being treated.

Temple member and U.S. Army Reserve combat medic Jagpal Singh, 29, said people who were at the service when the shooting broke out described to him a scene of chaos and confusion.

Worshipers scrambled to escape the gunfire, but some tragically ran in the wrong direction. Others survived the rampage by locking themselves in bathrooms, he said.

Authorities did not release the name of the suspect. They said the shooter had used a 9mm semi-automatic pistol, which was recovered at the scene. Officials were tracing origin of the weapon, Ahern said.

Police surrounded and searched a grey, two-storey house in the Cudahy neighborhood, presumed to be the residence of the gunman on Sunday evening.

Generators and floodlights were set up along the middle-class block. A police source confirmed that a search warrant had been issued for the house, and a bomb squad was on the scene.

Family and friends of the victims gathered in the basement of a nearby bowling alley as they waited for their loved ones to be identified.

There were reports the gunman had been in the Army. According to a woman, who said she was the mother of the shooter's landlord, the suspect had recently broken up with his girlfriend, Patch reported.

President Barack Obama released a statement saying he and Michelle were 'deeply saddened' to learn of the tragedy.

'At this difficult time, the people of Oak Creek must know that the American people have them in our thoughts and prayers, and our hearts go out to the families and friends of those who were killed and wounded,' he said in a statement.

'My Administration will provide whatever support is necessary to the officials who are responding to this tragic shooting and moving forward with an investigation.

'As we mourn this loss which took place at a house of worship, we are reminded how much our country has been enriched by Sikhs, who are a part of our broader American family.'

Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney also issued a statement, calling the shootings 'a senseless act of violence'.

Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker condemned the attack at the temple and asked the people of his state to pray for the victims.

'Our hearts go out to the victims and their families, as we all struggle to comprehend the evil that begets this terrible violence,' he said.

'I ask everyone to join us in praying for the victims and their families, praying for the safety of our law enforcement and first responder professionals and praying for strength and healing for this entire community and our state.'

A vigil has been organized for 8pm this evening to show support for the victims and their families in Cathedral Square Park, Milwaukee.

The temple has a 400-500 congregation and many families were arriving for a meditation service when the attacker struck this morning.

It is estimated that 20 to 30 people were inside the temple when the gunman opened fire.

There was an 11.30 service scheduled which was expected to be attended by hundreds.

Oak Creek is south of Milwaukee along Lake Michigan.

Sikh rights groups have reported a rise in bias attacks since September 11. The Washington-based Sikh Coalition has reported more than 700 incidents in the U.S. since 9/11, which advocates blame on anti-Islamic sentiment.

Sikhs don't practice the same religion as Muslims, but their long beards and turbans often cause them to be mistaken for Muslims, advocates said. 

The Council on American-Islamic Relations released a statement which said that American Muslims 'stand with their Sikh brothers and sisters' following the deadly shooting.

Sikhs in Milwaukee have been the targets of attacks in their community as recently as last fall.

Religious leaders asked state lawmakers to visit the temple after a string of robberies and vandalism appeared to target businesses owned by Sikhs.

The attacks were part of a string of mob-like riots in a neighborhood that left several people badly beaten.

State Rep Josh Zepnick and District Attorney John Chisholm visited the temple in September and condemned the violence.

In New York City, Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly ordered a police presence at Sikh temples today.

NYPD spokesman Paul Browne said: 'The coverage is being put in place out of an abundance of caution.'

The shooting was described as 'domestic terrorism' - a phrase that was not used in the Aurora, Colorado attack.

FBI defines terrorism as 'the unlawful use of force or violence against persons or property to intimidate or coerce a government, the civilian population, or any segment thereof, in furtherance of political or social objectives'.

Sikhism is a monotheistic faith that was founded in South Asia more than 500 years ago.

It has roughly 27 million followers worldwide. Observant Sikhs do not cut their hair; male followers often cover their heads with turbans - which are considered sacred - and refrain from shaving their beards.

There are roughly 500,000 Sikhs in the U.S. The majority worldwide live in India. The Sikh Temple of Wisconsin has more than 400 members.

It was established in Milwaukee in 1997 with just two dozen families and grew quickly in the last 15 years.

In 2007, a new temple was built in Oak Creek on 13 acres outside Milwaukee city limits.

The 17,500-square-foot temple included a much larger parking lot and worship area, as well as a library, a nursery and a play area for children.

This is the second horrific mass shooting in a matter of weeks.

On July 20, James Holmes, a 23-year-old graduate student, allegedly killed 12 people and an unborn child and wounded 58 others when he walked into a midnight screening of The Dark Knight Rises in Aurora, Colorado.

Another shooting massacre will only increase calls for tighter gun control legislation to make it more difficult to for people to buy firearms and place restrictions on assault rifles and high-capacity magazines.

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