Calls for investigating anti-Sikh bias as a potential factor in the FedEx shooting in Indianapolis, Ind. on Thursday evening are circulating social media. Of the eight victims killed, four were of the Sikh faith.
According to BBC, Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department Chief of Police Randal Taylor said that approximately 90% of workers at the facility are members of the local Sikh community.
The Sikh Coalition released a statement confirming the deaths of members of Indianapolis’s Sikh community. Though it declined to speculate on the shooter’s motives, the coalition encouraged authorities to conduct a full, thorough investigation.
The coalition’s exhortations were soon echoed by several other South Asian and AAPI organizations.
“As @sikh_coalition notes, 8,000+ Sikh Americans live in In.,” South Asian Americans Leading Together wrote. “Knowing this, it is impossible to respond without contextualizing the violence in xenophobia.”
Our hearts go out to the entire Indianapolis community affected by last night's horrific shooting – including the Sikh community who make up a large # of employees at the FedEx center. While details are still emerging, there must be an investigation into whether bias was a factor https://t.co/9yKaOVJgBA
— CAPAC (@CAPAC) April 16, 2021
Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi released a press statement on Saturday echoing the Sikh Coalition’s calls for a consideration of anti-Sikh motivations in the shooting.
“As our country seeks to understand this week’s senseless mass shooting in Indianapolis, both in itself and as part of the larger blight of gun violence, it’s also imperative that authorities fully investigate whether this attack may have been driven by anti-Sikh motivations,” Krishnamoorthi wrote. “While we’re still searching for answers, half of this tragedy’s eight victims were members of the Sikh community and the facility was known in the area to be heavily staffed by Sikh employees.”
Authorities say that as of now, it is unclear whether Sikhs were targeted.
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