OAK CREEK, Wis. — After the sadness and shock, members of Wisconsin’s insular Sikh community found themselves confronting scenes they never would have expected. There were outpourings of support, including a gathering of hundreds of people of different faiths and skin colors, some holding candles, others wearing white head scarves, in a gesture of solidarity with this predominantly Indian religion.

They have been bombarded with flowers, good wishes and hundreds of thousands of dollars, an assertive response to the killings at a Sikh temple here on Sunday of six people — Sita Singh, 41; Ranjit Singh, 49; Prakash Singh, 39; Paramjit Kaur, 41; Suveg Singh, 84; and Satwant Singh Kaleka, 65, who was the temple’s president.

“No matter what the shooter did, he failed, because instead of pulling us apart, he made us closer,” said Harpreet Singh Kapur, 34, a member of the Sikh Temple of Wisconsin in this town about 10 miles south of Milwaukee. “It will get stronger from here. We didn’t realize that we have such support from other members of society until this happened. Now we realize how much they care about us. We feel more close to other faiths and other religions now more than ever before.”

As this town prepares to welcome at least 2,000 people to a group funeral service here on Friday, residents, local officials and Sikhs are hoping to use this time of grief as a teaching moment. They are hoping to increase the involvement of Sikhs in the wider community and increase the community’s awareness of the Sikh people.