Ex-girlfriend of gurdwara shooter arrested, faces weapon charge

A former girlfriend of the slain suspect in Wisconsin gurdwara shooting that left six Sikhs dead has been arrested and faces charges of possession of illegal weapon. 

31-year-old Misty Cook, a waitress and nursing student with reported ties to white supremacist organisations, was arrested as part of a joint investigation between the FBI and South Milwaukee Police Department "on the crime of felon in possession of a firearm."

"Charges will be sought through the Milwaukee County District Attorney's Office," Milwaukee police said in a statement last night after the arrest of Cook, the former girlfriend of the slain 41-year-old gunman Wade Page.

A federal law enforcement official was quoted as saying by ABC News that Cook was taken into custody on the grounds that she is prohibited from having a gun as a convicted felon. Cook was charged in 2002 for fleeing and eluding a traffic officer.

Cook's relationship with Page fell apart in the weeks leading up to his alleged shooting spree at the gurdwara.

In Oak Creek, Wisconsin, thousands of people gathered last evening in an outpour of support for victims of the shooting on Sunday. They lit candles, flew orange Sikh flags and joined in Sikh prayers.

"What we learned, you know, about the shooter is he did stuff with music that was completely full of hate and energy that was brain-washing to himself," Amardeep Kaleka, whose father Satwant Singh Kaleka was president of the gurdwara and among those shot and killed, was quoted as saying.