OAK CREEK — Oak Creek police released on Monday, September 10, the police dash cam videos from two squads taken the day of the Sikh Temple shooting, Sunday, August 5th.
Officials released two clips of video — about three to four minutes in length.
The first clip was dash cam video from Lt. Brian Murphy’s squad. It shows Lt. Murphy arriving on the scene. He exits his squad and checks on two victims from the temple.
Moments later, he notices Wade Page walking around the parking lot with what appears to be a gun. Page fires upon Murphy and he is struck; the shot goes through Murphy’s cheek and throat.
Page closes in on the wounded officer. Murphy takes aim at Page. But Page fires a shot that knocks the gun out of Murphy hands.
New information indicates 15 rounds were fired upon Lt. Murphy. Officials say 12 of the rounds struck Lt. Murphy; the other three struck his protective vest.
The second clip shows dash cam video from the squad of Oak Creek Police Officer Sam Lenda. Officials say Lenda distracted Page away from Lt. Murphy; most likely saving his life.
The dash cam video shows Lenda pulling up on the scene at the Sikh Temple. He saw Page running around in the parking lot at the Sikh Temple and backed off. After assessing the situation, Officer Lenda grabbed his squad rifle, an AR-15. Page had been firing upon Lenda’s squad — and even struck the windshield. Moments later, Lenda fired his squad rifle at Page, striking the suspect. Lenda indicated he fired six rounds. Moments after this exchange, Page shoots himself in the head.
“It is from my perspective compelling evidence to show Lt. Murphy and Officer Lenda were both justified in privilege in their use of force when they confronted Mr. Page at the Sikh Temple,” said D.A. John Chisholm. “Beyond that and further, their courageous and timely actions were necessary to prevent further tragedy.”
The shooting at the Sikh Temple of Wisconsin on August 5th left six dead and three critically wounded. The six victims of temple shooting are identified as — Sita Singh, 41; Ranjit Singh, 49; temple president Satwant Singh Kaleka, 65; Prakash Singh, 39, and Suveg Singh, 84 — and 41-year-old Paramjit Kaur.
The man at the center of the shooting is 40-year-old Wade Page. Again, Page died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head in the moments after he shot up the temple — following a gunshot wound to the stomach fired by Officer Lenda.
