At least 20 people are feared injured in a shooting at a Sikh temple outside of Milwaukee in the US state of Wisconsin, according to local media reports.
Stephanie Uljanec, Oak Creek police department dispatcher, confirmed the shooting took place on Sunday morning at the gurudwara, but said she did not know how many people were shot or if there were any fatalities.
A witness who sent a text message to a local reporter of the Journal Sentinel said two alleged shooters were possibly still inside the temple, holding children as hostages.
There are also reports that the head priest was locked inside a restroom with a cellphone and said there are as many as 30 victims in temple.
Oak Creek is south of Milwaukee along Lake Michigan.
Fran McLaughlin, spokeswoman for the Milwaukee County Sheriff's Department, said a call came in at 10:26am local time. She said officers were at the scene but she had no other information to report.
Shooting reported at US Sikh temple - Americas - Al Jazeera English
At least four people were shot just after 10 a.m. Sunday at the Sikh Temple in Oak Creek,
and a police SWAT team entered the building before noon and brought uninjured people out of the building at 7512 S. Howell Ave.
Victims were being taken out of the temple.
Among those who were shot was the president of the temple.
People were in the temple as early as 6:30 a.m. Sunday and many more were arriving for a service that was to begin about 11:30 a.m.
There were reports that children were taken to the building's basement after shots were fired.
Someone who sent a text message to a Journal Sentinel reporter shortly before noon said that there were two shooters with children possibly as hostages.
And the head priest was locked inside a restroom with a cell phone and that there were as many as 20 to 30 victims.
One of the temple's committee members, Ven Boba Ri, said that based on communication with people inside the temple, the shooter was a white male in his 30s.
"We have no idea," he said of the motive. "It's pretty much a hate crime. It's not an insider."
According to Ri, the man started shooting after he walked up to a priest who was standing outside, and shot him.
Then he went inside and started shooting.
People inside the temple were using cell phones to call people outside, saying please send help, Ri said.
"It's sad, I don't know how to describe it," said Ri, who has been fielding calls all morning from around the world, including India.
"Sikhism is such a peaceful religion. We have suffered for generations, in India and even here."
"We're all the same. Everybody has the same blood," said temple member Jaswinder Schandock.
Groups of temple members were gathered, on cell phones, conferring in small groups and watching from afar.
Oak Creek police were not giving out any information at this point.
Numerous police agencies had responded to scene to assist Oak Creek, including the Milwaukee County Sheriff's Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
At least two dozen ambulances responded, including from Oak Creek, Caledonia, North Shore Fire, Greenfield and West Allis. Those ambulances had moved to the temple about 12:40 p.m.
As of about 12:30 p.m., the Milwaukee County Medical Examiner's Office said it had not been called to the scene.
Meanwhile, Brookfield police officers were dispatched to the Sikh Temple at 3675 N. Calhoun Road as a precaution in the aftermath of the Oak Creek shooting.
At least three squads were at the temple in Waukesha County.
About 50 people were at the Brookfield temple for a morning service and many of them went outside after they learned of the shooting in Oak Creek.
At least four shot at Sikh Temple, victims being taken out - JSOnline