Members of the Sikh community affected by the mass shooting that left eight dead at a FedEx facility in Indianapolis are demanding compensation from the city.
A letter obtained by the Indy Star indicates that Harpreet Singh, Lakhwinder Kaur and Gurinder Bains each are seeking $700,000, accusing the city of violating its own red flag law.
That law allows police to confiscate firearms without a warrant when they believe people are a danger to themselves or others.
“We are statutorily required to provide adequate notice to the City of Indianapolis and Marion County within a certain time period to protect our clients’ rights if they decide to move forward with a lawsuit related to last April’s tragedy,” said Amrith Kaur Aakre, Sikh Coalition’s Legal Director, said to Indica. “Accordingly, we submitted this notice of claims last month to meet that obligation. We remain in close conversation with our clients about their injuries and ongoing needs as we continue to chart the course forward and work on these matters.”
As AsAmNews reported in April, Brandon Hole scoured White supremacist websites and is accused of specifically targeting Sikh workers when he began shooting up the FedEx facility in Indianapolis.
Among his eight fatal victims were four Sikh American employees. Hole reportedly told his mom he would point his guns at the police so they would shoot him. Its believed that Hole turned the gun on himself.
Police did confiscate a shotgun from Hole, but because authorities did not file a red flag case, he was later legally able to purchase the two rifles he used to carry out the FedEx shooting.
“All three of our clients suffered losses as a result of the underlying failure of the Marion County Prosecutors office that could have prevented the mass shooting incident,” the letter says, according to the Indy Star.
The letter also states a bullet is still lodged in the head of Singh, Kaur suffers from psychological distress after being grazed in the arm while Bains is filing a claim on behalf of his father’s estate.
“I think people hear red flag and they think it’s a panacea to all issues. It’s not,” said Marion County prosecutor Ryan Mears to the Indy Star back in April.
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