Four Sikhs among eight killed in mass shooting at FedEx facility in US
Washington: Four Sikhs, including three women, were among eight people who were killed in a mass shooting at a FedEx facility in the US state of Indiana staffed by a large number of Indian-American employees, shocking the community leaders who appealed to President Joe Biden to tackle the growing hate crimes and gun violence in the country.
The gunman, identified as 19-year-old Brandon Scott Hole, a former employee. He allegedly died by suicide after the shooting on late Thursday night at the FedEx facility in Indianapolis. He was last employed by FedEx in 2020.
Hole was interviewed by FBI agents last year, after his mother called police to say that her son might commit suicide by cop", the bureau said on Friday.
This is the worst Sikh massacre in the US after the Oak Creek Gurdwara mass shooting in Wisconsin on August 5, 2012, where seven members of the community were killed.
About 90 per cent of the workers at this delivery service facility are said to be Indian-Americans, mostly from the Sikh community.
"This is very heart-breaking. The Sikh community is devastated by this tragic incident," community leader Gurinder Singh Khalsa told PTI over the phone after meeting family members of the employees of the FedEx facility.
Late Friday night, the Marion County Coroner's Office and Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department (IMPD) released the names of the victims.
Four victims who belong to the Sikh community are: Amarjeet Johal (66), Jaswinder Kaur (64), Amarjit Skhon (48) and Jaswinder Singh (68). The first three deceased are women.
Other victims include Karli Smith, Alexander Matt, Samaria Blackwell and John White. Another Sikh community member, Harpreet Singh Gill, 45, was hit by a bullet near the eye and is now in hospital.
The IMPD said the coroner's office will determine the causes of death after autopsies are completed.
US President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris have expressed condolences over the tragic killings.
Vice President Harris and I have been briefed by our homeland security team on the mass shooting at a FedEx facility in Indianapolis, Indiana, where a lone gunman murdered eight people and wounded several more in the dark of night, Biden said in a statement.
Biden issued a proclamation in honour of the deceased. He ordered that the national flag be flown at half-staff at the White House and upon all federal buildings.
Visiting Japanese Prime Minister, Yoshihide Suga, at the start of his bilateral meeting with Biden at the White House expressed his condolences to the victims and his sympathies to the families.
Innocent citizens must not be exposed to any such violence. Freedom, democracy, human rights, and the rule of law are the universal values that link and are prevalent in the Indo-Pacific, he said.
Khalsa said community members are in touch with the officials.
"Post 9/11, the Sikh community has suffered a lot. It is high time that strong measures be taken to bring an end to such mass shootings. Enough is enough," he said. Indiana has about 10,000 members of the Sikh community.
Community leaders, like Khalsa, are engaged in philanthropic and charitable activities.
We have families in our country that are grieving the loss of their family members because of gun violence. There is no question that this violence must end. And we are thinking of the families that lost their loved ones, Vice President Harris told reporters.
The shooter allegedly turned his weapon on himself before law enforcement arrived at the scene. FedEx has confirmed that he was a former employee at the Indianapolis facility. No further information was released.
The Indian Embassy in the US has conveyed its heartfelt condolences to the families of those who lost their lives in the "shocking" mass shooting incident.
India's Consul General in Chicago, Amit Kumar, spoke to the Mayor of Indianapolis Joe Hogsett, who assured full support.
We are closely monitoring the situation and remain ready to provide all possible assistance, the Indian Embassy said in a statement on Friday night.
Khalsa said: This should be a wake-up call for the entire country, in particular, the Sikhs and Asian Americans, against whom there has been a sudden spurt in hate crimes."
Not ruling out the possibility of a hate crime, Khalsa said community leaders are meeting on Saturday to discuss the tragic incident and the way forward.
We request the president of the United States that he needs to come forward and be serious about hate crimes, especially against the Sikh community because they are very vulnerable due to their appearance and look, he said.
The president should take it seriously -- gun controls, automatic semi-automatic guns -- they are very lethal, he said.
We are deeply saddened by this latest killing in Indianapolis. It is very troubling to hear random mass shootings taking place in America almost every week. This kind of senseless killing and gun violence needs to stop, Rajwant Singh, chairman of the Sikh Council on Religion and Education, told PTI.
I am heartbroken to confirm that my naniji (maternal grandmother), Amarjeet Kaur Johal, is among those killed in the senseless shooting at the FedEx facility in Indianapolis, said Komal Chohan.
We are still working to identify others who were injured and killed on Thursday night. I have several family members who work at the particular facility and are traumatised. My nani, my family, and our families should not feel unsafe at work, at their place of worship, or anywhere, she said.
Although Sikhs began settling in Indiana more than 50 years ago, the first gurdwara was established in 1999. In the last two decades, the Sikh population around Indianapolis has experienced significant growth; today, there are 10 gurdwaras across the state and an estimated 8,000 to 10,000 Sikh Americans who have made Indiana their home.
I am deeply shocked and saddened by the loss of eight FedEx employees following the tragic shooting at FedEx Ground facility in Indianapolis. This FedEx facility was staffed by a large number of Asian Indian Sikh employees. I am saddened to know that at least four of those killed are members of the Indianapolis Sikh community, said Democratic leader Ajay Jain Bhutoria.
Meanwhile, the AAPI Victory Alliance has demanded an immediate investigation into whether or not these shootings were racially biased.
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Rahul Gandhi unveils 5 poll guarantees for Kerala, targets PM Modi and CM Vijayan
Thiruvananthapuram (PTI): In a high-stakes campaign here, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Saturday combined five populist electoral pledges with a fierce assault on Kerala’s ruling Communists, alleging Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan is being "controlled" by Narendra Modi in the same manner Donald Trump exerts influence over the Prime Minister.
Speaking at the valedictory function of the state-wide ‘Puthuyuga Yatra’ led by Leader of Opposition V D Satheesan as part of the Congress-led UDF’s preparations for the upcoming Assembly elections, Gandhi said, “The same way Trump is controlling Modi, the Prime Minister is controlling the Chief Minister of Kerala."
Announcing five guarantees for the people of poll-bound Kerala, he said, “The first guarantee is free travel for all women in KSRTC buses."
The other guarantees announced by him were a monthly financial assistance of Rs 1,000 for college-going girl students, increase of welfare pension to Rs 3,000 per month, a new health insurance scheme worth Rs 25 lakh coverage for every household in the name of former chief minister Oommen Chandy and interest-free loans of up to Rs 5 lakh for youngsters who want to start businesses.
In addition, he said a dedicated ministry would be created for the welfare of senior citizens.
Launching a scathing attack on Pinarayi Vijayan, Gandhi said PM Modi is "controlling the Chief Minister".
He alleged that even CPI(M) workers were aware of this and would admit it.
“I want to understand why the CBI and ED take action against opposition politicians but do not take action against the Chief Minister of Kerala,” he said.
Gandhi said there were 36 cases against him and that he was interrogated by the Enforcement Directorate for 55 hours.
“Why has the ED taken no action against the Chief Minister and his family? The reason is they are working together,” he alleged.
According to him, in Kerala, it was not the CPI(M) and BJP, but the “CJP” that was working together to defeat the UDF.
Gandhi also accused the LDF government of "functioning in the interests of big corporates".
“This is the most corporatist government Kerala has ever seen. It is against the interests of workers, small businesses and farmers and is working for the interests of the biggest businessmen,” he alleged.
He said the CPI should be renamed the “Corporate Party of India”.
“At least stand for what you say you are,” he said.
Referring to the alleged gold theft at Sabarimala temple, Gandhi claimed that the investigation was prevented from reaching the top leadership.
“Don’t worry, we will take strict action against those who dishonoured Sabarimala."
He also alleged that the LDF government had created a serious unemployment situation in the state.
“Modi has destroyed the employment system in India and the CPI(M) has destroyed it in Kerala,” he said.
Taking on the Centre, Gandhi alleged that the Prime Minister had “let the country down”.
“He has betrayed the country,” Gandhi said.
He said he was using the word deliberately and believed the Prime Minister had "betrayed the country" by signing the trade deal with the United States.
Gandhi claimed that the consequences of the agreement would be borne by the people of India.
“No Prime Minister before him opened our agriculture to American agriculture. Large American mechanised firms are going to compete with small Indian labour-intensive firms,” he said.
He said the deal would lead to devastation for farmers cultivating crops such as cotton, corn, pulses, fruits and soybeans.
Gandhi also claimed that the Prime Minister had "compromised" the country’s energy security.
“Imagine the Prime Minister of India committing to President Trump that we will buy oil from where America wants us to. Imagine a country as powerful as ours having to take permission from the US if we want to buy oil from Russia,” he said.
Referring to the trade deal, he said the US could extract data from India, which he described as the "most valuable asset" in the era of artificial intelligence.
“AI is all about data and India, with 1.4 billion people, is the largest producer of data. All of it has been signed away by Prime Minister Modi,” he alleged.
Earlier in the day, during a dialogue with the Information Technology (IT) Fraternity at Technopark here, Gandhi said that if India had said that its data was the most valuable in the world, there would have been no taxes on agriculture or on small and medium businesses.
He claimed that, except him speaking out against it, there was "not a peep" in India when its data was "handed over" to the US as part of the deal signed by the central government.
During his interaction with the tech professionals, the LoP in Lok Sabha also said that China has built a "superb and unmatched" industrial system in the world, but the neighbouring nation was "coercive and undemocratic".
He was also concerned that China dominated the electric motors and batteries technology which saw wide usage in the Ukraine-Russia war and the ongoing conflict in West Asia.
"That is a huge problem," he said, adding that he was confident that if aligned properly, an Indian company can take on the Chinese in that space.
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