A decade after its own public tragedy, the suburban Milwaukee Sikh community gathers to support Waukesha parade victims
Nearly 10 years after a gunman killed six people at the Sikh temple in Oak Creek, local Sikh community members have raised $14,000 for the victims and families of the Waukesha parade tragedy.
Nearly 40 members of the Sikh community gathered in Veteran's Park on Dec. 5 to pray for the parade victims and their families. They stood outside in the rain to do so.
"We prayed to God. God give strength to the families. God give them encouragement to make peace in their home. God give them strength to feel that pain. God bless them," said Inderjeet Dhillon, Wisconsin Secretary of the Sikh Temple of Oak Creek.
After hearing about the tragedy, the Oak Creek and Brookfield-based Sikh communities asked members to donate money to help victims and their families. Donors from both communities raised about $7,000 each. The money will be donated to the United for Waukesha Community Fund.
More: What we know about the Waukesha Christmas Parade attack
"We understand what it feels like to have a senseless act take away your loved ones," said Anup Singh, outreach coordinator for Gurduara Brookfield-Wisconsin.
In August 2012, a gunman fatally shot six people at the Oak Creek temple and wounded four others, one of whom died from his injuries in 2020.
"We wanted to show our condolences to the families," said Gurduara Brookfield-Wisconsin member Kuldip Ahjua. "The Sikh community went through that almost 10 years ago, so we can relate to what the families are going through."
The Sikh community has been involved with vigils and community support efforts after other tragedies in southeastern Wisconsin. In this latest effort to reach out to others who suffered violence, the Oak Creek community teamed up with the Brookfield temple, which is the closest Sikh place of worship to Waukesha.
The goal, Singh said, was to pay their respects to the victims and offer support to their families.
"Maybe by coming together we can promote this message of brotherhood and convey that, hey, we are all human beings," he said.
The fundraiser and prayer service aligned with core values of the Sikh faith, including equality, compassion and sharing one's fortune with others, Singh said.
The prayer the group recited at Veterans Memorial park on Sunday asked God to "keep everyone in their good graces and provide his blessings to everyone equally," Singh said.
"It is what we can do to help the folks who are battling or dealing with this terrible tragedy," Singh added. "It will not make things right, but hopefully it can help to move on."
Contact Alex Groth at agroth@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter at @grothalexandria.
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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Waukesha parade victims find support in Sikh temple shooting survivors
