Wade Michael Page, Military Veteran, Identified As Milwaukee Sikh Killer

Alleged gunman Wade Michael Page is seen in this undated handout from the FBI, released at the Oak Creek Police Department on August 6, 2012. Police identified the gunman who killed six people at a Wisconsin Sikh temple as a 40-year-old U.S. Army veteran, and a monitor of extremists said he was a member of a racist skinhead band. Oak Creek Police Chief John Edwards told a news conference on Monday that the gunman, who was shot dead by police at the scene on Sunday, was named Wade Michael Page, a former U.S. soldier who served from 1992 to 1998. REUTERS/FBI/Handout (UNITED STATES - Tags: CRIME LAW TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY HEADSHOT) FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY. NOT FOR SALE FOR MARKETING OR ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS
(Photo : Alleged gunman Wade Michael Page is seen in this undated handout from the FBI, released at the Oak Creek Police Department on August 6, 2012. Police identified the gunman who killed six people at a Wi)

Wade Michael Page, a military veteran, has been identified as the man who shot and killed six people inside a Sikh Temple south of Milwaukee.

Oak Creek Police Chief John Edwards made the announcement Monday morning in a news conference.

Page shot and killed five Sikh men and one woman in a shooting rampage on Sunday. He also wounded three other people, two of which are in critical condition.

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After raiding the temple Page, 40, shot the first police officer to arrive at the scene eight to nine times at close range. The officer had arrived to give aid to one of the victims who was shot in the parking lot. Page also resorted to shooting at two police cars and even disobeyed orders to drop his weapon. When he repeatedly continued shooting, an officer killed him with a squad rifle, elaborated Edwards.

The officer that Page wounded was identified as Brian Murphy, 51, a veteran of 21 years. He is currently in critical condition according to reports from Edwards.   

Page was in the Army from 1992 to 1998. He trained at Fort Sill, Okla., and served at Fort Bliss in Texas and Fort Bragg in North Carolina. Page worked as a repair technician for the Hawk missile system and later became a specialist for Psychological Operations. He received a general discharge from the military and was not eligible to reenlist.

There are also reports the Page may have been deeply racist and may have been the leader of a racist white-power band called "End Apathy."

The shooting comes just weeks after the horrific shooting in Aurora, Colorado that ended the lives of 12 and injured 58 during a screening of "The Dark Knight Rises."