Gunman's tattoos lead officials to deem Sikh shooting terrorism
Tattoos on the body of the slain Sikh temple gunman and certain biographical details led the FBI to treat the attack at a Milwaukee-area temple as an act of domestic terrorism, officials said Sunday. ...
A federal official who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media refused to say whether the gunman was thought to belong to a hate group or some other violent group because the investigation was still unfolding. ...
Oak Creek police handed control of the investigation to the FBI on Sunday afternoon.
Federal officials cautioned against thinking that a concrete link to a domestic terrorism group or hate group had been established. ...
“We don’t know much about the motive at this point.”
TIMELINE: Deadliest mass shootings in the U.S.
The designation of “domestic terrorism” under the FBI’s rubric — which was not applied to the Aurora, Colo., theater shooting — implies a political agenda. The FBI defines terrorism as “the unlawful use of force or violence against persons or property to intimidate or coerce a government, the civilian population, or any segment thereof, in furtherance of political or social objectives.” ...
The Sikh faith originated in India in the 15th century. Male followers wear turbans and women wear head scarves. In the U.S., Sikhs occasionally have been mistaken for Muslims. They have also been victims of hate crimes. ...
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http://www.latimes.com/news/nation/nationnow/la-na-nn-sikh-temple-domestic-terrorism-20120805,0,6094643.story
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