Since the attack, there’s a lot of talk and questions flying around. What exactly did the attackers want? Were the attackers originally provoked at an earlier date by the people from inside the temple? How did the attackers even get in?

According to Gothamist, there were cops stationed outside and let the bat-wielding dissidents who said they wanted to enter to pray into the gurdwara.

Temple President Jarnail Singh told the Post

“This is [NYPD officer] Mr. McCoy’s fault,” he said. “Mr. John let about 100 people inside with bats, swords and sticks to attack us.” And why did he do that? They told him they wanted to pray. As McCoy told the tabloid, “If you’re going to pray, you’re allowed inside.”

I suppose technically it’s not against the law to carry a bat, and technically it’s not against the law to carry a bat when you pray, so really, what were the cops supposed to do?

For those who don’t know, including me, the ruckus began over what appears to be a disagreement over some membership issues. From Gothamist:

Singh told the News the fight was over a dissident group of followers who don’t want to see membership rolls opened at the temple. “We tried to open membership, and a group didn’t want it. They want to fight it.”

Of course, I have no idea what that means, but apparently the rolling of membership at a Sikh temple is a really big deal. That being the case, I will try to avoid said rolling if/when I have a membership that may require it.