Feds: Temple Shooter Committed Suicide With Head Shot
Page shot self after officer shot him in stomach, says FBI.
Aug. 8, 2012 — -- The FBI revealed today that Wade Michael Page, the Army veteran and white supremacist who killed six people at a Sikh temple in Oak Creek, Wisconsin on Sunday, appears to have died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head after being shot in the stomach by a police officer who responded to the scene.
Teresa Carlson, special agent in charge of the FBI's Milwaukee office, said at a press conference that the officer had "neutralized the threat" by shooting Page.
"I have seen the video and it is an amazing shot," said Carlson, "and thank goodness. Subsequent to that wound it appears that Page died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head."
Carlson did not identify the officer, but 32-year veteran Sam Lenda, the second officer to reach the scene, was previously credited with downing Page.
Authorities also said that Lt. Brian Murphy, the veteran Oak Creek police officer who was the first to reach the temple and was shot at least eight times, is recovering.
"He's progressing amazingly and we're very, very thankful for that," said Oak Creek Police Chief John Edwards. "Yesterday he was up walking [and] they had him sitting up for a period of time."
Murphy was hailed as a hero for instructing other officers at the scene to assist the shooting victims before attending to him.
The FBI has not identified another suspect besides for Page and said there is no evidence that anyone else was involved in the shooting. Page, 41, played in several white supremacist rock bands and was a member of the skinhead organization the Hammerskins. According to the watchdog group SITE, he posted extensively on racist internet forums. His body was adorned with tattoos that the Anti-Defamation League says have symbolic meaning for white supremacists.
Page's ex-girlfriend, Misty Cook, was arrested on Tuesday when police found a gun in her Milwaukee home. Cook was taken into custody on the grounds that she is prohibited from having a gun as a convicted felon, a federal law enforcement official said.
According to police, Cook has not been charged with an offense and has been cooperative in the investigation. They do not believe she was involved in the shooting in any way and said her arrest has no relation to the investigation.
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