Four members of Sikh community among victims in Indianapolis shooting

Four members of the Sikh community were among the eight people killed in a shooting Thursday at an Indianapolis FedEx facility.

The Sikh Coalition confirmed that four members of its community were killed in the shooting before the Indianapolis Police Department identified all eight victims.

Further update: We are sad to confirm that at least four of those killed in Thursday night’s attacks are members of the Indianapolis Sikh community. https://t.co/Uso0qL8uh8

— Sikh Coalition (@sikh_coalition) April 16, 2021

The victims were identified as 32-year-old Matthew R. Alexander, 19-year-old Samaria Blackwell, 66-year-old Amarjeet Johal, 64-year-old Jaswinder Kaur, 68-year-old Jaswinder Singh, 48-year-old Amarjit Sekhon, 19-year-old Karlie Smith and 74-year-old John Weisert.

The deceased victims have been identified as 32-year-old Matthew R Alexander, 19-year-old Samaria Blackwell, 66-year-old Amarjeet Johal, 64-year-old Jaswinder Kaur, 68-year-old Jaswinder Singh, 48-year-old Amarjit Sekhon, 19-year-old Karlie Smith, and 74-year-old John Weisert.

— IMPD (@IMPDnews) April 17, 2021

Authorities have said the gunman was a 19-year-old former Fedex employee and that his mother had warned law enforcement in 2020 that he might attempt “suicide by cop.” 

The suspected shooter died by a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

The fatal attack late Thursday marked just the latest in a spate of mass shootings across the country.

A shooting earlier this year at Atlanta-area spas also killed eight people, including six women of Asian descent, sparking alarm over rising violence against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders.

Several Democrats have mounted calls for gun control reforms to be passed through Congress in light of the shootings.

“Gun violence is an epidemic in America. But we should not accept it. We must act,” President Biden said in a statement Friday.

“Too many Americans are dying every single day from gun violence. It stains our character and pierces the very soul of our nation,” he added. “We can, and must, do more to act and to save lives.”