As the 10-year anniversary of the Oak Creek Sikh temple in Wisconsin shooting approaches, Former Oak Creek Police Lt. Brian Murphy describes the scene of the crime to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel in a video.
Murphy was the first officer on the scene at the Sikh temple on Aug. 5, 2012 after receiving the call that there was a shooting. Once he got to the temple, Murphy noticed there was a vigil for someone important.
“At that point, I took maybe one or two steps to go back to the vehicle when I saw someone come out of the temple running,” Murphy said. “And as soon as I looked over it was obvious to see that this more than likely had to be the guy just by his dress.”
Another giveaway was the holster on his leg.
Once Murphy identified himself as the police and said “stop,” the suspect drew his gun. Both Murphy and the suspect shot at each other. Murphy was shot 15 times.
“I didn’t know if I hit him or not, so that’s when I went for cover.”
The suspect turned out to be Wade Michael Page, a White supremacist who died on the scene from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Murphy believes the shooter did not end up killing him because he did not give him a reaction.
“I didn’t make a noise. I didn’t yell in pain. I’m not giving you anything,” he said in the video.
According to Fox 6, six people were killed and a seventh named Baba Punjab Singh died in 2020 from a wound that left him paralyzed.
Among the six who died during the shooting, one was Satwant Singh Kaleka, the founder of the Sikh temple.
“We don’t take days for granted,” said Pardeep Kaleka, the son of Kaleka. “We don’t take relationships for granted.”
New York-based Sikhs for Justice pledged a $10,000 award to Murphy, said an ABC article.
In 2012, two Yuba City residents donated $50,000 each to Murphy for his bravery, calling him a “real American hero,” said an Appeal Democrat article.
“I’m very fortunate to have as much backing as I’ve had from the Department, from the city for sure, from the Sikh community which has just been so unbelievably generous. And just overall, they have done nothing but been positive,” Murphy said.
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