MILWAUKEE — Ten years ago, a gunman attacked the Sikh Temple of Wisconsin in Oak Creek, Wisconsin. Six people died and four were wounded, and a seventh victim later died of his wounds in 2020.

When Wisconsinites join Sikhs living throughout the Badger State Friday to remember and reflect on the horrific and deadly attack at the Sikh Temple of Wisconsin, they won't be alone.

"It was... the deadliest mass shootings for Sikh Americans in this country and I think it really sent shockwaves through our [worldwide] community that someone could come into our safe space," Kiran Kaur Gill, executive director of the Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund said. "[Friday] is a time that we reflect as a community, but in the aftermath so many communities came together and stood with us..."

In the wake of that attack, Gill said a new report ahead of Friday's anniversary showed hate crimes against Sikhs in American have been on the rise since 2019, adding they are the most targeted minority in hate crime bias incidents per capita.

"We talk about this myth of the perpetual foreigner," Gill added. "Sikh Americans have been in this country for over 100 years, but because of our distinct articles of faith, including the beard and the turban, we know that for many Americans, they don't know what those symbols mean."

Watch the full interview above.