OAK CREEK, Wis. — Mandeep Singh Khattra and his family
received Michelle Obama with an embrace Thursday as the first lady
consoled relatives of worshippers gunned down earlier this month at a
Sikh temple in suburban Milwaukee.
Obama spent nearly 90 minutes visiting with the Khattras and other families of Sikh worshippers who were killed or injured in the shooting at the Sikh Temple of Wisconsin. She expressed her sympathies, offered support and listened to many stories about victims.
Relatives of the victims said afterward that Obama asked informed questions that showed she had read up on the plight of those killed and injured.
She especially seemed to know the story of Satwant Singh Kaleka, the temple president who tried to stab the gunman with a butter knife in an effort to stall him so women and children in the temple would have time to hide.
"The thing she kept repeating was, `Your father was a true hero,'" said Amardeep Kaleka.
The visits with worshippers were private, and she took no questions during a public appearance with the Oak Creek mayor and a temple official at a nearby high school. She offered sympathies to them in hushed tones, then went into a classroom for private visits with each of the families.
Six Sikhs were killed and three others injured when a gunman with ties to a white supremacist group strode opened fire at the temple. The gunman also shot Oak Creek Police Lt. Brian Murphy nine times at close range before killing himself.
Murphy was released from the hospital Wednesday. As a sign of their deep gratitude, temple members gave his family a $10,000 check along with a large banner signed by well-wishers, said Inderjeet Singh Dhillon, a temple official.
with thanks : Huffington Post : LINK for detailed news.
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