FBI says temple shooter killed self

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The FBI gave a new explanation the morning of Wednesday, Aug. 8, for what happened at the Sihk Temple in Oak Creek last Sunday, Aug. 5.

Investigators now say that the gunman – Wade Michael Page – shot himself in the head after Oak Creek police officer Sam Lenda shot and wounded him in the stomach.

Authorities had said earlier that Lenda, a 32-year police veteran, killed Page with a rifle after he refused orders to put down his nine-millimeter pistol. But FBI Special Agent-in-Charge Teresa Carlson said investigators reviewed a videotape, and it showed Page fired his own fatal shot to the head.

That was right after the 40-year-old Page killed six worshippers and wounded three other people – including the first officer on the scene, Oak Creek police lieutenant Brian Murphy.

Officials at Milwaukee’s Froedtert Hospital said all three survivors remained in critical condition at the hospital’s intensive care unit. One other person was also injured, then treated at the hospital and later released.

Carlson also said a motive for the massacre has not been clearly established. She said investigators continue to interview dozens of people who knew Page, who’s been connected with a number of white supremacist groups.

Carlson also re-affirmed that Misty Cook, Page’s ex-girlfriend who broke up with him in June, had nothing to do with the slayings. The 31-year-old Cook was arrested last night after a police search uncovered a gun which as a convicted felon, she’s not supposed to have. Officials say Cook has been cooperative, and she has since been released from custody.

Tags: wisconsin, crime