First Lady meets Wisconsin Sikh temple shooting victims' families

Washington, Aug. 24 (ANI): First Lady Michelle Obama met with families of those killed and injured in the shooting at a Sikh temple in Wisconsin earlier this month during her visit to Oak Creek.

Mandeep Singh Khattra and his family received Michelle Obama with an embrace as the First Lady consoled relatives of worshippers shot dead.

"She gave us a hug and said, 'I'm sorry for what happened,'" Khattra, 26, whose grandfather, Suveg Singh Khattra, was one of the six people shot dead on August 5 shooting, said.

According to CBS News, Obama spent nearly 90 minutes visiting the Khattras and other families of Sikh worshippers, who were killed or injured in the shooting.

She expressed her sympathies, offered support and listened to many stories about the victims, the report said.

According to the report, relatives of the victims later said that Obama asked questions that showed she had read about the plights of those killed and injured.

Obama especially knew the story of Satwant Singh Kaleka, the Sikh temple president who tried to stab the gunman with a butter knife in an effort to stop him so that women and children in the temple would get time to hide, the report said.

"The thing she kept repeating was, 'Your father was a true hero,'" Amardeep Kaleka said.

Kaleka's son, Amardeep Kaleka, said the gunman might have sought to divide the community, but instead his evil actions brought people together, the report said.

Kaleka noted that Sikhs and non-Sikhs grieved together at candlelight vigils, and dignitaries from Mrs. Obama to Attorney General Eric Holder took time to come and pay their respects, the report added.

According to the report, Obama's visit with worshippers was private, and she did not respond to questions during a public appearance with the Oak Creek mayor and a temple official at a nearby high school.

Six Sikhs were killed and three others injured when a gunman with ties to a white supremacist group opened fire at the temple. (ANI)