New Jersey: The American Sikh Council (ASC) is shocked and saddened by the appalling crimes committed against eight innocent hardworking individuals at the FedEx facility in Indianapolis, IN. ASC extends its deepest condolences to the victims and their families of those involved in Thursday night’s murderous spree carried by a young 19-year-old white male. Out of the eight people who were killed, four were Sikh-American; three women and one man.

According to news reports the disgruntled former employee shot at least eight people and injured several others before shooting himself. The FedEx facility in Indianapolis has a sizable number of employees who are Sikh American.

Reports from local gurdwara members confirmed that the four Sikhs killed were, Amarjeet Kaur Johal (66-year-old); Jasvinder Kaur (50-year-old); Amarjit Kaur Sekhon, (48-year-old); and Jaswinder Singh, (68-year-old). We join the Sikhs of Indianapolis and across our nation in mourning their loss, along with the other four individuals murdered; namely, Matthew R. Alexander (32-year-old); Samaria Blackwell (19-year-old); Karli Smith (19-year-old), and John Weisert (74-year-old).

According to several news reports, “the horrendous attack began when a 19-year-old white male began randomly shooting at people in the parking lot and then went into the building and continued firing.” At this moment there is an ongoing investigation into whether this was a mass murder due to extreme bias, falling in the category of a hate crime.

American Sikh Council (ASC) President Dr. Gurdas Singh stated, “We have had enough of random senseless mass murders, which must stop immediately. With 147 mass shootings across our nation in the 2021 killing innocent citizens, it must be a wake call for all our political leaders, before it is too late. On behalf of all our member gurdwaras, we extend our deepest condolences and extend our prayers to all those family members who lost their loved ones in this unbelievable tragedy.”

President Biden must take strong action against all violence committed against people of all shades, religions, ethnicities, etc., and bring about a sensible gun control law with comprehensive background checks nationally.

Sikh Americans are very sensitive to issues of bias but have been very resilient due to their continued belief in the ever-uplifting positive Sikh spirit of ‘Chardi Kala’. We pray and hope that Sikh Americans and all Americans help make a thoughtful, empathy driven change for a better and more peaceful future for the sake of our children.

The American Sikh Council (ASC) stands in solidarity with all not only our brothers and sisters in the Sikh American, African American, Asian American, but with all communities, which continue to be negatively impacted by senseless violence. We pray for all the deceased and the families who lost their loved ones in this terrible tragedy.