In the wake of the Aug. 5 shooting at a Sikh temple in Wisconsin that left six people dead and three wounded, the Board of Rabbis of Southern California expressed sympathy and solidarity with the Sikh community.
“An attack on one house of worship is an attack upon all of us. An assault on one faith community is an assault upon all of us. We join together in praying that the Source of Peace will grant the blessings of peace and security to our broken world,” Rabbi Mark Diamond, the Board of Rabbis’ executive vice president, said in a statement.
Law-enforcement officials identified the gunman as 40-year-old Wade M. Page, an army veteran with ties to the white supremacist movement.
According to police, Page entered the Sikh Temple of Wisconsin in Oak Creek, Wisc., on Sunday and began firing. Police shot and killed him on the scene.
Page’s victims include five men and one woman, and a police officer was among the three who were critically wounded. As of late Monday, police had yet to determine a motive for the shooting.
The Board of Rabbis, which operates under the auspices of the Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles, is among several organizations, including the Los Angeles Council of Religious Leaders, that expressed solidarity with the Sikh community following the shooting.
A local memorial service for the victims of the shooting is scheduled for Sunday, Aug. 12, 10:30 a.m.-1 p.m., at the Vermont Gurdwara Sikh in the Griffith Park-Los Feliz area, according to a temple spokesperson.
