Grieving members of the Sikh community held the first service at the Gurdwara here since the killing of six worshippers by a white supremacist a week ago and offered prayers for the victims.
The mourners assembled inside the prayer hall of theGurudwara yesterday, bowed before the Guru Granth Sahib and chanted hymns andprayed for the six worshippers who were killed in the shootout inside theGurdwara last Sunday.
They also prayed for the quick recovery of the threeindividuals who were injured in the tragic incident including the policeofficer who fought the neo-nazi gunman.
Wade Michael Page, 40, an ex-army veteran, went on ashooting spree killing six Sikhs and injuring three others, including a policeofficer, at the Gurdwara here last Sunday before dying of a self-inflicted gunshotwound.
Those attending the Sunday service said the ceremony todayinvolved cleaning up the pole which had a flag on top.
Outside, community members raised the American flag fromhalf-staff and hoisted a new Sikh flag in an elaborate ritual surrounded byhundreds who'd come from across the country.
The service included devotional hymns and prayers and theclosing of the Sikh holy book. The holy book has been read in its entirety overthe past three days. Women sang hymns as a group lowered a flag pole outsidethe Gurdwara here.
The pole which was covered with orange cloth was firstremoved by about 50 men and boys. Thereafter the pole was washed with water andmilk. The pole was finally wrapped with a new orange cloth.
"The six people who died were some of the most belovedpeople here," said Kanwardeep Kaleka, whose uncle Satwant Singh Kaleka wasamong those killed in the incident.
"That they died in this house of God brings us evenmore peace," he was quoted as saying by the local media.
The Gurdwara was opened for the public on Friday, six daysafter the deadly shooting with over 100 community members returning to clean itahead of the funeral for the victims.
