Gunman killed self after getting shot

The Neo-Nazi gunman, who killed six persons at a gurdwara in Wisconsin, had died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) said on Wednesday.

The Neo-Nazi gunman, who killed six persons at a gurdwara in Wisconsin, had died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) said on Wednesday.

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Disclosing this at a televised news conference, FBI special agent Teresa Carlson said Wade Michael Page, 41, had killed himself after a police officer shot him in the stomach outside the Oak Creek gurdwara on Sunday.

An examination of Wade's body showed that he had adorned his body with tattoos that hid secret racist codes and symbols — depicting allegiance to white supremacist beliefs.

According to Marilyn Mayo, co-director of the Anti-Defamation League's Centre on Extremism, said many of Page's tattoos contained specific racist codes and hidden symbols that showed that he belonged to a specific skinhead gang. The ADL maintains an online database of racist symbols. Mayo said, "Getting a tattoo is permanent... that you have been initiated."

Page had a tattoo on his right arm below his shoulder with the number '838', which Mayo said is a coded symbol indicating membership in the Hammerskins, a group that has been spreading mayhem since the 1980s. The number '838' corresponds to the letters H, C, H, an acronym for the group's motto 'Hail the Crossed Hammers'.

Reuters & PTI