‘Suspicious’ Severna Park Man Visits Sikh Shooting Site

A Severna Park man was detained at Oak Creek Sikh Temple, the site of an August mass shooting in Wisconsin, for suspicious behavior last week. He reportedly had boxes of ammunition in his car but was not arrested by police.

According to an Oak Creek Police Department report, 31-year-old Joel Sinclair Corbett of the 50th block of Jamar Drive in Severna Park walked into the temple at 8:41 a.m. on Oct. 28 wearing a backpack with wires hanging out.

Police located Corbett in the prayer room of the temple where he told them he heard about the Sikh Temple massacre on CNN and wanted to come pray with the worshippers, according to the report. Police then asked Corbett for consent, which Corbett granted, to search his backpack.

According to the report, officers searched Corbett’s backpack and found a large amount of plastic zip ties, a roll of duct tape and a folded manila envelope in a plastic bag that Corbett said contained $4,500 in cash. Officers also found hotel receipts from around the country and discovered the wires they saw hanging from the backpack were from various electronic chargers.

Corbett told police he had been driving around the country to different areas where tragedies occurred. He told police he had recently visited the Aurora, CO, movie theater.

When police searched Corbett’s car they found four boxes of 9 mm ammunition, a Glock handgun case, three bottles of gun cleaning solvent and a suitcase full of clothing and personal items.

According to the report, after searching the car, police said Corbett told them he had planned on speaking with members of the temple regarding the August shooting for a book he was writing. He also told police that God had told him to go to the Sikh Temple.

Officers detained Corbett and spoke to his mother Esta Lynn Corbett, who was listed as the owner of the vehicle. According to the report, Esta Corbett said her son had left his firearms at their home in Severna Park and she said she sold them on his behalf.

An FBI agent spoke with Corbett and determined there was not any immediate reason or probable cause to arrest him. Corbett handed the box of ammunition over the police and allowed them to make copies of the writings in his notebooks.

Police told Corbett not to return to the Sikh Temple and released him, according to the report.