MILWAUKEE, Wisconsin, USA—Lieutenant Brian Murphy, the first police officer to respond to the shooting at the Oak Creek Gurdwara Sahib in Wisconsin, extended Vaisakhi greetings to the Sikh community. Lt. Murphy asked fellow Americans to take a moment to wish Sikh Americans a happy Vaisakhi, since it is one of the the most important religious occasions for Sikhs.
Lt. Murphy was shot fifteen times at close range during the shooting at the Oak Creek Gurdwara Sahib on August 5, 2012, including once in the neck. The gunman, a white supremacist named Wade Michael Page, had opened fire on the Sikh congregation, killing six Sikhs. Lt. Murphy was left critically injured and had to be hospitalized.
Lt. Murphy posted the following message online –
Good morning to all! I am going to ask a favor.
Today millions of Sikhs around the world will celebrate the centuries-old festival of Vaisakhi this week, one of the most important dates in the Sikh calendar. The festival marks several important dates, including the spring harvest festival, the Punjabi New Year and the year Sikhism was born as a collective faith in 1699.
The favor I ask is that if you know a Sikh, or think someone may be Sikh please take the time to say Happy Vaisakhi to them. It would mean so much to me and I know it would mean so much to them.
God Bless and Be Safe
On March 29, Lt. Murphy asked the Republican frontrunner for the Presidential election, Donald Trump, what he would do to secure the rights of American religious minorities, including Sikhs, Hindus, Jains and Buddhists. Trump did not answer Lt. Murphy question and instead changed the subject to discuss what he called, “radical Islam.”
Several Sikhs responded to Lt. Murphy’s message on Facebook and appreciated his comments.
