As spread across the country, both Sikhs and non-Sikhs shared their concerns and sadness at the event.
Usman Medha of the King Fahad Mosque in Culver City told Patch that while their worshipers are Muslims not Sikhs, and are in fact two separate religions, "From a completely human perspective we're sad to see innocent lives lost and to see people go on a killing spree. We hope and pray that the families are safe and find support."
He also added, "We deplore all acts of violence, no matter who commits them."
There are seven Sikh Temples in the greater Los Angeles area in the South Robertson district of Los Angeles near Beverly Hills, North Hollywood, Alhambra, Buena Park, Canoga Park, Hollywood and Poway.
A spokesperson for Los Angeles police and officials at one of L.A.'s four Sikh temples said they were not stepping up security in the wake of the Wisconsin attack.
A representative at the Gurdwara Los Angeles Sikh Temple in North Hollywood told City News Service they had not added security at their location.
The attack , coming a year after in a case that still is unsolved, and amid an ongoing campaign by community leaders to convince the FBI to .
“The Sacramento Sikh Community, like our brother and sisters across the country, is dismayed to learn of the horrible tragedy unfolding in the Milwaukee area today,” Darshan Mundy, a spokesperson for the Sacramento Sikh Temple, said in a statement. “The Sikh community has been the subject of many attacks over the years and since 9-11. At times like this, we must rely on our faith and join as a community to deal with this tragedy.”
In fact, the in the city.
"We need protection here, too," said Jaswinder Singh, a committee member at Guru Nanak Sikh Society of Lehigh Valley in Pennsylvania. "We’re not feeling safe. ... Everyone is calling and contacting the committee, asking if it's safe to come to the temple."
A 12-year-old member of the Sikh Temple of Iowa in West Des Moines .
"It's tragic, and probably a misconception of who we are," Jeevanjot Singh said. "I think it's because of the turbans, and the stereotype that people who wear turbans are Muslim, and after 9/11, people think Muslims are bad."
, whose parents are practicing Sikhs, posted this message on her Facebook Page:
"It's very sad to see something like this happen to a peaceful place of worship. Our prayers and condolences go out to the families of the innocent victims and the family of the heroic officer in this senseless tragedy," Haley said via her Facebook page.
Malkit Singh Gill, president of the New England Sikh Study Circle in Milford, MA .
“I need to be thinking about what the next step is for the temple. We are hard-working, peace-loving people and it’s sad that one person is trying to put fear in to us,” Gill said.
