The gunman who killed six people at a gurdwara in Wisconsin died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound to his head after he was shot by police, the FBI announced today and said it was still treating the case as an "act of domestic terrorism".
Wade Michael Page, 40, a former US soldier and a singer with a neo-Nazi punk band, was initially said to have been killed by a police officer who challenged him as he went on shooting spree at the gurdwara.
"Page died from a self-inflicted gun shot wound to the head. He was first shot by a officer in the stomach that injured him," Special Agent Teresa Carlson, head of the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Milwaukee office, said in a press conference in Oak Creek, Wisconsin.
Carlson said investigators had videotape related to the officer shooting Page. The officer shot Page in the stomach and "subsequent to that wound, it appears that Page died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head."
The FBI is working round the clock on the investigation. "We have not identified anyone else responsible for the shooting," Carlson, also the leader of the investigation, said.
Police said Page acted alone, but they distributed a photo of the man, saying they wanted to identify and question him.
"The photo helped authorities to find the man, who was cooperative and continuing to cooperate," Carlson said.
"We have not clearly defined a motive at this point and the case is still being treated as an act of domestic terrorism," she said.
The law enforcement agents have conducted 100 interviews nationwide of families, associates and neighbours of Page. It has issued 180 federal subpeonas and has 101 leads pending worldwide. It recovered 139 items from the parking lot and also going through emails and telephone accounts of Page.
The video camera inside the gurdwara was not on and so the FBI does not have any video coverage of the shooting inside the place of worship, she said.
Earlier, US authorities arrested Page's ex-girlfriend Misty Cook for the offence of being in possession of a fire arm as a felon.
But, Carlson said her arrest is not related to the shooting incident.
"Cause of arrest of Misty Cook, Page's girlfriend, not related to the shooting and has no relation to the investigation."
South Milwaukee Police and FBI agents were interviewing Cook after the earlier attack and noticed that she had a weapon despite being banned from owning a firearm because of a previous felony conviction, Carlson said.
