Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Four members of Sikh community among dead in Indianapolis FedEx shooting

Four members of Sikh community among dead in Indianapolis FedEx shooting

FOUR members of the Sikh religious community, three women and one man, were killed in a Thursday (15) night shooting at a FedEx facility in Indianapolis that claimed the lives of eight workers, a community group and local leader said on Friday (16).

"Out of eight, four are Sikh community members," said businessman Gurinder Singh Khalsa, who identified himself as a leader of the local Sikh community and said he had spoken with the families of those killed.


He said the FedEx operations center near the city's international airport was known for providing employment to older members of the Sikh community who did not necessarily speak fluent English. Thousands of Sikh-Americans live in Indiana, according to community members.

Indianapolis police have yet to confirm the identities of any of the victims of the mass shooting.

But law student Komal Chohan, in a Twitter exchange with Reuters, said that her grandmother Amarjeet Kaur Johal was among the victims and that several other relatives who worked at the facility were "traumatised."

Earlier, Chohan had written on Twitter that her grandmother "was gonna work a double so she could have the day off today but decided to just grab her check and go home. she still had her check in her hand when they found her."

Another worker who had just moved from India and only recently began working at the facility was also among the victims, she wrote: "what a hard and cruel world we live in."

Most of the world's roughly 25 million Sikhs live in the northern Indian state of Punjab, according to the New York-based Sikh Coalition advocacy group. An estimated 500,000 Sikhs live in the US.

A Twitter user identified as Aurinder, who said they were Chohan's sibling, also posted about their grandmother.

"Every time I saw news articles of mass shootings it never really phased me. My Nani Ji (beloved grandmother) was murdered last night coming back home from work," Aurinder wrote.

The massacre is the most recent in a series of US mass shootings that has again pushed the issue of gun violence to the political foreground.

Eight people were shot to death at three day spas in the Atlanta area in mid-March, raising fears that the gunman had targeted Asian Americans amid a rise in hate crimes. Days later, a gunman killed 10 people at a supermarket in Boulder, Colorado.

FBI Indianapolis Special Agent in Charge Paul Keenan said it would be premature to speculate on the motive of the gunman in Indianapolis, a 19-year-old former FedEx employee.

The Sikh Coalition said on Twitter that it expects "authorities will conduct a full investigation - including the possibility of bias as a factor."

Since the September 11, 2001, attacks on the US perpetrated by the Islamist militant group al Qaeda, Sikh men have sometimes been confused publicly with Muslims because they wear turbans and their hair and beards uncut.

"While many have a tendency to describe anti-Sikh hate violence as 'mistaken identity,' defaulting to this framework is problematic," an educational pamphlet on the Sikh Coalition's website reads. "It fails to account for the other alternate bias-related motivations behind the violence."

In 2012, a lone white, male gunman shot and killed six people at a Sikh temple in Wisconsin in what authorities said was a domestic terrorism incident. The attacker fatally shot himself after a gun battle with police.

Chohan said the Sikh community had been through "enough trauma."

"My nani, my family, and our families should not feel unsafe at work, at their place of worship, or anywhere," she said in a statement sent to Reuters.

More For You

Starmer-Getty

Keir Starmer had indicated last month that he would reverse the cuts. (Photo: Getty Images)

Government restores winter fuel benefit to 9 million pensioners after backlash

THE GOVERNMENT will reinstate winter fuel payments to millions of pensioners this year, reversing an earlier decision that had removed the benefit for most recipients in England and Wales. The move comes after months of criticism and political pressure on prime minister Keir Starmer.

After taking office in July, Starmer's Labour government had removed the winter fuel payments for all but the poorest pensioners as part of broader spending cuts.

Keep ReadingShow less
Kemi Badenoch

The Conservative leader said she asks people to remove face coverings—whether burqas or balaclavas—when they attend her surgeries. (Photo: Getty Images)

Getty Images

Badenoch backs employers’ right to ban face coverings

KEMI BADENOCH has said she will not speak to women wearing burqas or other face coverings at her constituency surgery.

In an interview with The Sunday Telegraph, the Conservative leader said she asks people to remove face coverings—whether burqas or balaclavas—when they attend her surgeries.

Keep ReadingShow less
Croydon’s Vegan Big Lunch Draws Community Together with Mayor Chatterjee

Mayor Richard Chatterjee joins locals in celebrating compassion and culture at Croydon's vegan picnic

Getty images

Vegan picnic in Croydon brings crowds together for The Big Lunch with Mayor Richard Chatterjee

A sunny Sunday afternoon turned into a celebration of kindness, flavour, and connection as Croydon's Lloyd Park played host to a vibrant vegan picnic on 8 June. Marking The Big Lunch, a UK-wide community initiative, local vegetarians and vegans gathered with loved ones for a day of delicious food, music, and togetherness.

Plant-based plates with a powerful message

Keep ReadingShow less
Mumbai-local-getty

Officials said work is also ongoing to redesign existing non-AC local trains to improve ventilation so that automatic door closing systems can be installed. (Photo: Getty Images)

Getty Images

After deaths of four commuters, railways to add automatic doors to Mumbai local trains

THE RAILWAY Ministry has decided to install automatic door closing systems in existing and new local trains on the Mumbai Suburban network, following the deaths of four commuters and injuries to nine others who fell from overcrowded trains in Thane district on Monday, officials said.

A senior official said that after the incident, the Railway Minister and Railway Board officials held a detailed meeting and tasked the Integral Coach Factory (ICF), Chennai with manufacturing non-air-conditioned local trains with automatic doors for Mumbai Suburban services.

Keep ReadingShow less
Imran Khan

Imran Khan has been held in Adiala Jail since August 2023 in several cases. (Photo: Getty Images)

Getty Images

Imran Khan may secure bail on 11 June, says party leader

FORMER prime minister Imran Khan, 72, is expected to seek bail in the Al-Qadir Trust case when the Islamabad High Court (IHC) hears petitions on 11 June to suspend the sentences handed to him and his wife Bushra Bibi.

Khan has been held in Adiala Jail since August 2023 in several cases. PTI chief Gohar Ali Khan told ARY News that “June 11 is going to be an important day for both Khan and his wife,” but he gave no further reason. The IHC had earlier adjourned the matter after the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) asked for more time to prepare its arguments.

Keep ReadingShow less