Casualties in US Sikh temple shooting (Aljazeera)

Date : 2012-08-05 09:14:07

At least 20 people are feared injured in a shooting at a Sikh temple outside of Milwaukee in the US state of Wisconsin, according to local media reports. Stephanie Uljanec, Oak Creek police department dispatcher, confirmed the shooting took place on Sunday morning at the gurudwara, but said she did not know how many people were shot or if there were any fatalities.

 A witness who sent a text message to a local reporter of the Journal Sentinel said two alleged shooters were possibly still inside the temple, holding children as hostages.

There are also reports that the head priest was locked inside a restroom with a cellphone and said there are as many as 30 victims in temple.

Among those who were shot was the president of the temple, the Journal Sentinel reported.

A spokesperson of the Froedtert hospital in Wisconsin said three people have been brought in. Two are in critical condition, the other is in the operating room. 

A police officer at the scene said it was unclear if there were still "active shooters" at the Sikh temple.

Oak Creek is south of Milwaukee along Lake Michigan.

Fran McLaughlin, spokeswoman for the Milwaukee County Sheriff's Department, said a call came in at 10:26am local time. She said officers were at the scene but she had no other information to report.