At least eight people were killed, and several others were wounded in a shooting at a FedEx warehouse near Indianapolis Airport. According to police, gunman Bradon Hole, a former employee, started shooting "randomly" almost immediately after leaving his vehicle. There has not been any proof of a motive yet.
FedEx shooting believed to be another hate crime
Mass Shooting At Indianapolis FedEx Facility Leaves Eight Dead INDIANAPOLIS, IN - APRIL 18: Leaders of the Sikh community meet with family members of the deceased at Monument Circle on April 18, 2021 in Indianapolis, Indiana. The vigil was held in the wake of a mass shooting at a FedEx Ground Facility that left at least eight people dead and five wounded on the evening of April 15. Four of the eight killed were members of the Sikh community.
Reuters reported four members of the Sikh community, three women and one male, were among those killed in the incident. Meanwhile, the names of those killed in the shooting were released by officials on Friday.
Matthew R. Alexander, 32; Amarjeet Johal, 66; Samaria Blackwell, 19; Jasvinder Kaur, 64; Jaswinder Singh, 68; Karlie Smith, 19; Amarjit Skhon, 48; and John Weisert, 74, were the victims identified by law enforcement officials. Since the news broke out that four members of the Sikh religious community were killed in the mass shooting, many people assumed it was just another hate crime, as per MEAWW.
Social media users quickly pointed out that the gunman was aware of the FedEx employees and supposedly attacked them because of their religious affiliation. "This was a targeted hate crime," one person wrote. At that plant, Sikhs made up the bulk of the workforce. This man, an ex-employee, was well aware of it. The fact that his photo will not be released should tell you everything you need to know."
At Least 8 People Dead Including Suspect in Massive Shooting at Indianapolis FedEx Facility
Sikh community calls for gun reforms after FedEx shooting
The members of the city's close-knit Sikh community joined city leaders in calling for gun reforms, Fox News reported. Aasees Kaur, who led the Sikh Coalition, spoke out alongside the city's mayor and other elected officials at a vigil attended by more than 200 people in an Indianapolis park Saturday evening to demand measures to deter future assaults.
The attack came a month after officials said a gunman killed six Asian Americans in the Atlanta area. It came amid continued attacks on Asian Americans during the coronavirus pandemic. According to police, about 90 percent of the employees at the FedEx warehouse near the Indianapolis International Airport are Sikhs.
Kiran Deol, who spoke at the vigil on behalf of the victims' families, said that loopholes in the legislation that made it easier for people to purchase weapons need to be closed now and that anybody trying to buy a gun should get their background checked. The senseless crime has traumatized the entire society, said Satjeet Kaur, executive director of the Sikh Coalition.
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According to the coalition, Indiana has between 8,000 and 10,000 Sikh Americans. Members of the community, which originated in India in the 15th century, started arriving in Indiana more than 50 years ago and opened their first Gurdwara, or house of worship, in 1999. The shooting occurred during Vaisakhi, a big holiday festival that commemorates the birth of Sikhism as a common religion, among other things.
The coalition said there are almost 500,000 Sikhs in the United States. Many practicing Sikhs may be identified by their articles of faith, which include the turban and unshorn hair.
The attack is the deadliest act of violence against the Sikh community in the U.S. after a white nationalist opened fire at a Sikh temple in Wisconsin in 2012, killing six people. In 2020, a seventh died as a result of complications related to his injuries. During a firefight with officers, the gunman killed himself, as per CBS News.
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