CITY'S SIKHS PRAY FOR VICTIMS OF US SHOOTING

This article appears in today's Leicester Mercury:

City's Sikhs pray for victims of US shooting

Sikhs in Leicester have said prayers for the six victims of Sunday's fatal shootings at a temple in America.

Gurjit Singh Walia, spokesman for the Guru Nanak Gurdwara, in Holy Bones, in the city, said: "We are all shocked by the senseless killings.

"We just wanted to gather to say prayers for those who lost their lives and the others affected."

Leicester[shire] Sikh Alliance (LSA) has also offered its condolences to those affected by the shootings, which took place at a Sikh temple outside Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Spokesman Amandeep Rai said the alliance's thoughts and prayers were with "the victims of the shooting, the Sikh community of Milwaukee and the larger community of Wisconsin, which we know will stand with their Sikh neighbours with their support and prayers during this very trying time".

It was announced yesterday that the gunman who opened fire as several dozen people prepared for Sunday morning services was former soldier Wade Page, 40, a neo-Nazi white supremacist.

As well as the six people who were killed, three people were critically injured.

Page was later killed outside the temple in a shoot-out with police.

Suleman Nagdi, public relations officer for the Leicester-based Federation of Muslim Organisations, said: "This cowardly shooting of innocent people symbolises all that is wrong with some parts of society, especially as it took place so soon after the horrific cinema killings in Denver.

"Early reports from the USA have suggested a racial motivation for this crime which is fuelled by hate.

"I find this very upsetting, since the Sikh community is well known for its hospitality and generosity to all of humanity."