Ex-girlfriend of shooting suspect arrested

Written By Unknown on Wednesday, August 8, 2012 | 4:25 AM

Members of Wisconsin's Sikh community conduct a candlelight vigil on Monday, August 6, for six people killed in Sunday's attack on a Sikh temple in suburban Milwaukee.Members of Wisconsin's Sikh community conduct a candlelight vigil on Monday, August 6, for six people killed in Sunday's attack on a Sikh temple in suburban Milwaukee.
Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, along with members of the Sikh community, attend Monday's vigil at the Sikh Religious Society of Wisconsin for the victims of the shooting at the Sikh temple.Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, along with members of the Sikh community, attend Monday's vigil at the Sikh Religious Society of Wisconsin for the victims of the shooting at the Sikh temple.
Hundreds of mourners gathered at the Sikh Religious Society of Wisconsin on Monday, August 6. The mourners pray for their neighbors killed in the attack on a Sikh temple.Hundreds of mourners gathered at the Sikh Religious Society of Wisconsin on Monday, August 6. The mourners pray for their neighbors killed in the attack on a Sikh temple.
Members of the Miwaukee-area Sikh community gather to learn information about the shooting spree of Wade Michael Page, 40, on Monday, August 6 in Oak Creek, Wisconsin.Members of the Miwaukee-area Sikh community gather to learn information about the shooting spree of Wade Michael Page, 40, on Monday, August 6 in Oak Creek, Wisconsin.
A member of the Miwaukee-area Sikh community weeps as he listens to information about the shooting spree.A member of the Miwaukee-area Sikh community weeps as he listens to information about the shooting spree.
Harpreet Singh, left, and Amardeep Kaleka, right, whose father, temple President Satwant Kaleka, was killed in Sunday's shooting, cry during a news conference in Oak Creek.Harpreet Singh, left, and Amardeep Kaleka, right, whose father, temple President Satwant Kaleka, was killed in Sunday's shooting, cry during a news conference in Oak Creek.
Amardeep Kaleka is consoled at the command center near the Sikh Temple of Wisconsin on Monday.Amardeep Kaleka is consoled at the command center near the Sikh Temple of Wisconsin on Monday.
FBI specIal agent in charge, Teresa Carlson, holds a photograph on Monday of a subject the FBI wants to interview and is asking for any information as she speaks at a news conference in Oak Creek.FBI specIal agent in charge, Teresa Carlson, holds a photograph on Monday of a subject the FBI wants to interview and is asking for any information as she speaks at a news conference in Oak Creek.
News crews report Monday from outside Page's home in Cudahy, Wisconsin. News crews report Monday from outside Page's home in Cudahy, Wisconsin.
People console each other on Monday at the command center near the Sikh Temple of Wisconsin.People console each other on Monday at the command center near the Sikh Temple of Wisconsin.
SWAT officers surround a Sikh temple in Oak Creek, Wisconsin, where a gunman whom authorities identified as Wade Michael Page, 40, stormed the building and opened fire on Sunday, August 5. The incident left six people and the gunman dead.SWAT officers surround a Sikh temple in Oak Creek, Wisconsin, where a gunman whom authorities identified as Wade Michael Page, 40, stormed the building and opened fire on Sunday, August 5. The incident left six people and the gunman dead.
SWAT officers gather in front of the temple Sunday. The attack occurred about 10:30 a.m., when temple members were reading scriptures and cooking food.SWAT officers gather in front of the temple Sunday. The attack occurred about 10:30 a.m., when temple members were reading scriptures and cooking food.
People wait for information in front of the temple as law enforcement officers secure the area.People wait for information in front of the temple as law enforcement officers secure the area.
Police work outside the entrance to the temple, near Milwaukee.Police work outside the entrance to the temple, near Milwaukee.
Police man an armored vehicle outside the temple.Police man an armored vehicle outside the temple.
A tactical officer runs to position as SWAT officers surround the temple.A tactical officer runs to position as SWAT officers surround the temple.
A woman wipes away a tear outside the Sikh temple.A woman wipes away a tear outside the Sikh temple.
People wait for word on family and friends in front of the Sikh temple. The Oak Creek temple, or gurdwara, opened in 2007. People wait for word on family and friends in front of the Sikh temple. The Oak Creek temple, or gurdwara, opened in 2007.
Police coordinate outside the Sikh Temple of Wisconsin, where the rampage took place.Police coordinate outside the Sikh Temple of Wisconsin, where the rampage took place.
A police officer directs people near the temple.A police officer directs people near the temple.
An officer works to secure a neighborhood in Cudahy, Wisconsin, on Sunday.An officer works to secure a neighborhood in Cudahy, Wisconsin, on Sunday.
Officers take cover behind a vehicle as they secure the neighborhood where the shooter is believed to have lived in Cudahy, Wisconsin.Officers take cover behind a vehicle as they secure the neighborhood where the shooter is believed to have lived in Cudahy, Wisconsin.
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  • Wade Michael Page was not subject of FBI probe, law enforcement official says
  • Police haven't found any message, writings left by Page
  • Researcher says Page told him about identifying with neo-Nazis

Oak Creek, Wisconsin (CNN) -- As community members sought emotional healing in the wake of the shooting spree at a religious service in Wisconsin, authorities announced they arrested Misty Cook, the ex-girlfriend of shooting suspect Wade Michael Page, on a weapons charge.

Cook faces a charge of felon in possession of a firearm, said South Milwaukee Police Lt. Jason Walker.

The arrest was part of a joint investigation between the FBI and the South Milwaukee Police Department, Walker said. But Walker released little more details about the arrest and if Cook had any connection to Sunday's shootings at a Sikh temple that left six victims dead.

Page, an Army veteran who neighbors say played in a far-right punk band, was the lone gunman in the rampage at the temple, police said. Page was shot to death by police responding to the attack in the Milwaukee suburb of Oak Creek.

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For a third consecutive night, mourners and supporters held a vigil Tuesday to remember the six victims, pray for the wounded and grapple with grief and shock.

People lit candles in an Oak Creek park and stood together in solidarity.

Police said Tuesday they had not identified a motive or found any telltale writings or a note left by the gunman.

Oak Creek Police Chief John Edwards also said family members of Page, 40, have not reported observing any warning signs.

According to Edwards and the FBI, authorities have received tips that Page might have links to the white supremacist movement, but nothing had been confirmed.

"We may end up with just a lot of facts on what he is involved with, who he may be associated with, but we may never know that motive, because he died, and that motive died with him," Edwards told CNN's "The Situation Room."

The chief also said, counter to speculation, Page did not have a 9/11 tattoo.

While the FBI has said Page never was the subject of an investigation, he was mentioned in a small number of federal law enforcement reference files in cases going back seven years, a law enforcement official told CNN on Tuesday.

The official said there is no information to suggest that investigators wanted to open a case on Page, but did not have the evidence to justify it. While Page might have been sympathetic to a certain ideology, there was no evidence he had committed a federal crime prior to the Wisconsin shooting, the official said.

The official did not provide details about the nature of the cases in which Page's name was mentioned.

Bernard Zapor -- the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives special agent in the investigation -- said Monday that the 9mm semiautomatic handgun with multiple ammunition magazines used by the attacker had been legally purchased.

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Page bought the gun on July 28 at the Shooters Shop in West Allis, Wisconsin, and picked it up two days later. The shooter bought ammunition there and used the shop's range.

Shop manager Eric Grabowski and owner Kevin Nugent told CNN Tuesday that surveillance video of Page buying the gun and using it in the range two days later has been turned over to investigators. The suspect did not exhibit unusual behavior while in the store, Grabowski said.

The magazine for the handgun holds at least 17 bullets.

Explainer: Who are Sikhs?

According to a man who described himself as Page's old Army buddy, the attacker talked about "racial holy war" when they served together in the 1990s. Christopher Robillard of Oregon, who said he lost contact with Page more than a decade ago, added that when Page would rant, "it would be about mostly any non-white person."

Page, born on Veterans Day in 1971, joined the Army in 1992 and left the service in 1998, according to Army spokesman George Wright. Page's service was marked by "patterns of misconduct" and he received a general discharge due to "discreditable incidents," according to a Pentagon official. Robillard said Page was pushed out for showing up to formation drunk.

John Tew, manager of a Harley-Davidson motorcyle store in Fayetteville, North Carolina, told CNN he fired Page from his parts coordinator job in 2004 because Page "had a big problem with authority" and with working with women. Tew said he found an application for the Ku Klux Klan on Page's desk the day he was dismissed.

A University of Nebraska at Omaha professor told CNN's "AC360" on Tuesday evening that he knew Page while doing research on extremist groups about 10 years ago.

Page told him he started identifying with neo-Nazis during his time in the military, Pete Simi said. The former soldier told him he believed the deck was stacked against whites, Simi said, adding he believed Page drank excessively.

Two neighbors of Page identified him in photos that showed him playing in the far-right punk band "End Apathy" with Nazi flags hanging near him.

The gunman's former stepmother spoke of a very different Wade Page she once knew before losing touch with him more than a decade ago, when she and Page's father divorced.

"It's like I don't even know that person," Laura Page said of more recent photos of Page. "It is not someone I ever could possibly know or be associated with." She told CNN that the Page she knew was gentle and loving and had black and Hispanic friends.

Sikh community continues to blend in, stand out

Sunday's attack in Oak Creek occurred 16 days after a gunman killed 12 people and wounded scores at a movie theater in Aurora, Colorado.

The six victims of Sunday's attack were identified by police as five men -- Sita Singh, 41; Ranjit Singh, 49; temple president Satwant Singh Kaleka, 65; Prakash Singh, 39, and Suveg Singh, 84 -- and one woman, 41-year-old Paramjit Kaur. A wake and visitation are scheduled for Friday morning.

CNN's Brian Todd, Carol Cratty, Mike Mount, Ed Payne, Scott Bronstein, Ted Rowlands, Tom Cohen, Shawn Nottingham, Susan Candiotti, Deborah Feyerick, Phil Gast and Ben Brumfield contributed to this report.

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