- Wade Michael Page spent is believed to have been radicalized by online forums and sites dedicated to white supremacy in months prior to shooting
- Page killed six people at the Sikh Temple of Wisconsin in August before turning the gun on himself
14 May 2013: The man behind the horrific shooting massacre at a Wisconsin Sikh temple last year was becoming increasingly more radicalized with the help of the internet, newly unsealed documents have revealed.
Wade Michael Page, who killed six people at the Sikh Temple of Wisconsin in August, was actively using online forums and websites to stoke his white supremacist beliefs in the months before the shooting.
An unsealed FBI search warrant reveals that federal agents quickly collected evidence of Wade Michael Page's connections to white power groups.
The documents say Page - who played guitar and sang in a became increasingly interested in conspiracy theories and videos online.
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| Gunman: Wade Michael Page, who killed six people at the Sikh Temple of Wisconsin in August, was actively using online forums and websites to stoke his white supremacist beliefs in the months before the shooting |
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| Girlfriend: Misty Cook told authorities that Page was an 'alcoholic skinhead' who pushed her to join a Chicago-based white power group known as Crew 38 |
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| Violence and hate: Wade Michael Page turned the gun on himself after being shot in the stomach by a responding police officer |
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| Connection?: Police in California are looking for a possible link between temple shooter Wade Michael Page, who played guitar in a band called End Apathy, and the California murders |
The warrant doesn't say what Page was viewing, but that it disturbed his girlfriend, Misty Cook, who told authorities that Page pushed her to join a white power group in Chicago known as Crew 38.
She told federal authorities that Page was an 'alcoholic skinhead,' according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Citing documents, the paper reported that Page was typical of others who use the internet to become increasingly radical.
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| Radicalized: Newly unsealed documents show that Wade Michael Page had become increasingly interested in conspiracy theories and videos he found online |
Cook, who is from Milwaukee, was arrested after a gun was found at her home.
She and Page were said to have broken up shortly before the Wisconsin massacre.
Page stormed into the temple on August 5, 2012, killing four people inside and two others outside.
Four others were injured - including Oak Creek police Lt Brian Murphy - the first officer to arrive at the scene. Lt Murphy was shot 17 times, according to reports.
Page himself was wounded as he was shot in the stomach by a second police officer, Officer Sam Lenda. Page then shot himself in the head.
The FBI eventually concluded Page - a former member of the U.S. military - acted alone in the shooting rampage. A motive has never been established.
Page was said to have harbored white supremacist views and would often rant about a 'racial holy war,' an former Army buddy told CNN two days after the shooting.
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| Grief: Harpreet Singh and Amaradeep Kaleka mourn during a press conference on August 6, 2012, in Oak Creek, Wisconsin about the shootings Sunday at the Sikh Temple of Wisconsin |
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| Remembrance: Six people were murdered after the shooting at a Sikh temple in Oak Creek, Wisconsin |
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| Love and support: People light candles during a vigil to honor victims of Oak Creek in downtown Milwaukee |
Christopher Robillard told the network that Page was his 'closest friend' in the military, but that even then he had troubling political beliefs.
The future killer was 'a very kind, very smart individual' who 'loved his friends', according to Mr Robillard, who added that Page was 'one of those guys with a soft spot.'
But Mr Robillard said that his friend was 'involved with white supremacy,' and continued: 'He would talk about the racial holy war, like he wanted it to come.
'But to me, he didn't seem like the type of person to go out and hurt people.
'I never pictured him as someone who would do anything. I thought maybe he was just saying it for attention.'
Mr Robillard said that Page was kicked out of the military after showing up for a line-up while drunk.
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| Prayers: Wisconsin Sikhs attend a memorial for victims of the shooting on Monday evening |
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| Crowd: The Sikh community has responded forcefully to the brutal mass killing in Oak Creek |
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| Victim: The president of the temple, Satwant Kaleka, was shot by the gunman as he tried to tackle him to the floor with a knife |
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| Loss: Mohan Singh Khatra, who lost his uncle Subeg Singh Khatra, 84, right, in the Wisonsin Sikh temple shootings, speaks to the media outside the Sikh Cultural Society in the Queens borough of New York |
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| Hero: Lieutenant Brian Murphy shot dead Wade Michael Page at the Sikh temple, despite himself being shot eight or nine times. He is currently recovering in hospital |