FBI concludes that Oak Creek, WI murderer acted alone

Bullet hole from the shooting attack at Oak Creek, Wisconsin Gurdwara, preserved as a memorial (source: AP)

Bullet hole from the shooting attack at Oak Creek, Wisconsin Gurdwara, preserved as a memorial (source: AP)

The FBI field office in Milwaukee, Wisconsin put out a press release today about the conclusion of its investigation into the shooting at the Gurdwara in Oak Creek, Wisconsin last August:

Teresa Carlson, special-agent-in-charge of the FBI’s Milwaukee office, issued a four-paragraph statement saying the agency had concluded its investigation into the Aug. 5 incident and found no evidence to suggest shooter Wade Michael Page had any help or was carrying out any directive from any white-supremacist group. Investigators also found nothing to suggest the attack was part of any ongoing threat to the Sikh community.

While the FBI may not have found specific evidence directly related to the killer’s motives, there seems to be something counter-intuitive in this conclusion given his background and activities as a white supremacist. That his motive is now considered indeterminate demonstrates how difficult it is to prove that an act is a hate crime.

Read more about the FBI’s statement at the Huffington Post.