Suspicious man at the Oak Creek Sikh Temple determined a false alarm

OAK CREEK - Police say a suspicious man entered the Sikh Temple in Oak Creek on Sunday, October 28th who was refusing to take off his shoes, as is custom for those who enter the Temple. The man then headed for the Temple’s kitchen. Police detained the man, searched his car, and found ammunition, a gun and strange writings.

Sunday’s scare at the Sikh Temple comes after six were killed and four were injured in a shooting at the Temple in August.

“It’s their house of worship, and for the second time in three months that was bothered on a Sunday morning,” Oak Creek Mayor Steve Scaffidi said.

The man, described as a 32-year-old from Maryland, reportedly showed up at the Temple around 8:30 a.m. Sunday — circling around the parking lot before sitting in his parked car for about 10 minutes. He then entered the Temple carrying a backpack.

Security officials detained the man and searched his backpack, where they found zip ties, duct tape, and what officers are calling strange writings regarding the shooting in Aurora, Colorado during a midnight showing of the Dark Knight Rises. In the man’s car, officials found ammunition and a gun.

The man reportedly told officials he drove to the Sikh Temple to pray with Temple members, and later told police he was writing a book about the Sikh Temple shooting, and wanted to talk with Temple members.

“Just because you put words down on a paper doesn’t make you an author,” Aanwar Git Singh Bajawa with the Sikh Temple Board of Trustees said.

Members of the Sikh Temple say they’re grateful this was a false alarm, but instances like this do not help them move on after August’s shooting.

“”This does not help in the recovery. It makes people upset. It makes them nervous. That’s not what we’re about here. It’s not what Oak Creek is about,” Mayor Scaffidi said.

Oak Creek Mayor Steve Scaffidi says this man’s actions cannot be tolerated.

“That kind of behavior I don’t want to see around the Temple. It’s not going to be allowed,” Scaffidi said.

The FBI and Oak Creek Police reportedly investigated, and the man was released after it was determined he was not deemed a threat.