Ames/Requiem/News

Madrid IA, 2/26/2017 -- Massacre at Temple: Man or Animal? -- What was originally believed to have been a likely hate crime at the Hindu Temple Cultural Center of Iowa, high on the bluffs over the Des Moines River, may have been an animal attack. Two sherrif's deputies were injured as a mountain lion fled the ornate temple while they were securing the ghastly scene of fourteen dead members of the temple, four of which were children under the age of twelve. Officers had responded just after 8:30 p.m. to reports of bodies sighted outside the rural temple. Victims of a vicious attack were found both in the parking lot and inside the temple complex itself. Inital reports from officers on the scene hinted at a possible terroristic attack and/or hate crime, but with the later attack on officers by the large cat, this is now in question. Was the temple housing large cats for some unknown reason? Was ths the work of a terrorist organization? Investigators continue to seek answers to these and other questions.