Those who witnessed a lone gunman kill six people at a Sikh temple in America have been speaking to reporters about their experiences.

According to their accounts, the gunman - subsequently identified as Neo-Nazi sympathist Wade Michael Page - attacked the temple in Oak Creek, Wiconsin while a group of women were preparing food in the kitchen.

The gunman was first spotted by two children playing in another room, who ran into the kitchen screaming about the intruder.

When the children ran in screaming, the women fled in every direction, hiding in closets and recesses to avoid their assailant.

"Everyone was falling on top of one another. It was dark and we were all crammed in," 54-year old Parminder Toor, who was one of the 14 women inside the kitchen during the attack, told Reuters.

"They [the two children] were telling all the women to be still and to be brave, and they were telling the women not to cry. They are the heroes who saved the women in the closet," added Toor.

Another witness told the WISN News network: "There were some families who locked themselves in the bathroom, there were some who locked themselves in the kitchen area. He [the gunman] just came out and started shooting like all those other psychos we have heard about who have done other things in the past."

The gunman began shooting as soon as he arrived in the kitchen, without speaking a word to his victims. Witnesses add that the attacker clearly knew his target, and made no mistake.

'Quintessential American Dream'

Seven people, including the gunman, were killed in the attack. Police have confirmed the identities of all six temple-goers killed by the gunman, five of whom were male.

Amadreep Kaleka, son of 65-year old victim Satwant Singh, said: "My father was the quintessential American Dream - he came over with $100 in his pocket.

"America needs to have cultural understanding of anyone who lives here. We're a nation of immigrants. We need to know each other. We need to speak up and talk to each other."

The Sikh Coalition has also released a statement condemning the attack saying it was a senseless act of violence.

"There have been multiple hate crime shootings within the Sikh community in recent years and the natural impulse of our community is to unfortunately assume the same in this case. Let's let law enforcement investigate the case and as new facts emerge the dialogue can change," said the coalition director Sapreet Kaur.

Sikh temple attack
Mourners including Singh and Amardeep Kaleka, whose father, temple President Satwant Kaleka was killed, cry during a news conference in Oak Creek, Wisconsin Reuters
Sikh temple attack
Mourners attend a prayer service at the Sikh Temple in Brookfield, Wisconsin Reuters
Sikh temple attack
Mourners including Singh and Kaleka, whose father, temple President Satwant Kaleka was killed, cry during a news conference in Oak Creek, Wisconsin Reuters
Sikh temple attack
Mourners cry outside the scene of a mass shooting in Oak Creek, Wisconsin Reuters
Sikh temple attack
Mourners cry outside the scene of a mass shooting in Oak Creek, Wisconsin Reuters
Sikh temple attack
Mourners prepare for a candlelight vigil at the Sikh Temple in Brookfield, Wisconsin Reuters
Sikh temple attack
Mourners cry outside the scene of a mass shooting in Oak Creek, Wisconsin Reuters
Sikh temple attack
Mourners, including Amardeep Kaleka whose father, temple president Satwant Kaleka, was killed, cry outside the scene of a mass shooting in Oak Creek, Wisconsin Reuters