[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 71 (Monday, April 26, 2021)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E452-E453]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]





   IN HONOR OF THE VICTIMS OF THE SHOOTING AT THE INDIANAPOLIS FEDEX 
                                FACILITY

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. ANDRE CARSON

                               of indiana

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, April 26, 2021

  Mr. CARSON. Madam Speaker, I rise with my fellow Congressional 
colleagues from lndiana to honor the 8 Hoosiers we lost in the 
senseless shooting at the FedEx facility in Indianapolis.
  We also honor those who were injured, and pray that they have a full 
and fast recovery.
  The deceased were our friends, family and neighbors.
  They had hopes, dreams, and plans for the future--only to have their 
lives tragically cut short.
  And sadly, they are part of a much larger group of Hoosiers and 
Americans we have lost to gun violence.
  As our community and our state grieve, and as we seek to move 
forward, we pledge to never forget those we lost--in this shooting, or 
any other senseless act of violence.
  Their legacies will live on through our efforts to save lives in the 
future.
  Hoosiers are resilient, and we will continue working hard to create 
safer communities across America, always carrying the memory of those 
we have lost in our hearts.
  We will never forget them.

                            [Apr. 18, 2021]

        Indianapolis FedEx Shooting: Who Were the Eight Victims?

       Officials in Indianapolis have released the names of the 
     eight people who were killed when a gunman opened fire at a 
     FedEx warehouse on Thursday night.
       Among the victims were four members of the local Sikh 
     community--including a mother, a father and two grandmothers. 
     Other victims include two 19-year-olds, a university graduate 
     and a father.
       Local Sikhs say they feel ``traumatized'' by the attack.
       It remains unclear if Sikhs were targeted, authorities say.
       About 90% of workers at the facility are members of the 
     local Sikh community, police chief Randal Taylor said. Here's 
     what we know about the victims.


                           Amarjeet Johal, 66

       Johal was a ``mother, grandmother and member of the 
     Indianapolis' Sikh community'', according to the Indianapolis 
     Star.
       Her granddaughter, Komal Chohan, says she is 
     ``heartbroken'' at the death of her ``naniji'', or 
     grandmother.
       ``I have several family members who work at the particular 
     facility and are traumatised,'' Ms Chohan said in a statement 
     released by the Sikh Coalition.
       ``My nani, my family, and our families should not feel 
     unsafe at work, at their place of worship, or anywhere,'' she 
     said. ``Enough is enough--our community has been through 
     enough trauma.''


                            Jaswinder Singh

       Mr. Singh only started working at the FedEx facility this 
     week and had told everyone how excited he was, an inlaw, 
     Harjap Singh Dillon, told the New York Times. He said Mr. 
     Singh had been working a night-shift sorting mail when the 
     attack happened.
       An active member of the local temple, Mr. Singh had moved 
     to Indianapolis from California.
       ``He was a simple man,'' Mr. Dillon said. ``He used to pray 
     and meditate a lot, and he did community service.'' 
     Authorities provided Mr. Singh's age as 68, but his family 
     told the newspaper that he was 70.


                             Amarjit Sekhon

       A mother of two sons, Ms Sekhon began working at the FedEx 
     facility six months ago on an overnight shift, her niece told 
     the New York Times.
       ``She was a workaholic, she always was working, working. 
     She would never sit still unless she felt really bad,'' her 
     brother-in-law, Kuldip Sekhon, told the Associated Press news 
     agency.
       While officials said Sekhon was 48, her relatives said she 
     was 49.
       Ms. Kaur had been planning to make her ``renowned yogurt'' 
     to celebrate for her granddaughter's second birthday at a 
     large family gathering on Saturday, Rimpi Girn, a family 
     member, told the New York Times.
       ``And today we're gathering to plan a funeral,'' she said.
       Authorities said Kaur was 64, but her family told media 
     outlets she was 50.
       Samaria Blackwell was a 19-year-old soccer and basketball 
     enthusiast who dreamed of becoming a police officer.
       Her parents, Jeff and Tammi Blackwell, said they were 
     ``blessed by the Lord to have such a fun-loving, caring 
     daughter as the baby of our family'', in a statement posted 
     on GoFundMe page launched to fund funeral and other expenses.
       ``Samaria was tenacious in everything she did, from playing 
     basketball and soccer to being a lifeguard for Indy Parks,'' 
     they said. ``As an intelligent, straight-A student, Samaria 
     could have done anything she chose to put her mind to.''
       Mr. Weisert was a former Air Force officer who served in 
     Vietnam and had previously worked as a mechanical engineer 
     ``to make ends meet'', his son, Mike Weisert, told the New 
     York Times. Mike Weisert said his father had been thinking of 
     retiring in the coming months.
       Mr. Weisert's wife of 50 years, Mary Carol Weisert, told 
     local broadcaster WKRC she felt ``terror, horror, fear, 
     shock'' at his death. ``I don't know how else to describe 
     it.''
       A fan of action and classic movies, he enjoyed playing 
     country and bluegrass guitar, according to the New York 
     Times.
       Mike Weisert described his father as ``a very decent, kind 
     man, very dedicated to protecting and providing for the ones 
     he loved''.
       Ms. Smith was a sister and daughter, the Indianapolis Star 
     reported her family saying.
       The recent High School graduate was awaiting her first pay 
     cheque after starting work at the plant two weeks ago, a 
     family member told the newspaper.
       ``She was a lovely, beautiful and youthful teenage girl,'' 
     a family member told the Indianapolis Star. ``She had just 
     started to buckle down and get a job and take life a little 
     more serious.''
       Mr. Alexander was a former Butler University student who 
     had worked at FedEx for several years, according to the 
     Indianapolis Star.
       ```He was a great kid. He loved to play golf. Had a big 
     heart--always had a smile on his face,'' Albert Ashcraft, a 
     former FedEx colleague, told the newspaper.
       ``Everybody liked him,'' Ashcraft said. ``He was always 
     saving somebody's ass. People would bring doughnuts in and he 
     was always sticking doughnuts back for his drivers.''
       ``The Butler community is mourning the loss of Matthew 
     Alexander, a former student who was killed tragically along 
     with seven others at the FedEx facility in Indianapolis. We 
     want to extend our deepest sympathies to Matthew's friends 
     and families during this time of great sorrow,'' the 
     university said in a tweet.
                                  ____


                       Letter from Sikh Community


    Indianapolis FedEx Mass Shooting--Supporting the Sikh community

       Dear Rep. Carson, like you, we are deeply saddened by the 
     senseless act of deadly violence at the FedEx facility in 
     Indianapolis where eight people were viciously murdered, 
     including four Sikhs. On behalf of the Sikh Coalition, the 
     nation's largest Sikh civil rights organization, we write to 
     urge your action in support of the investigation and to 
     outline longer-term recommendations that can help ensure the 
     future safety of the diverse communities across the United 
     States.
       By way of background, Sikhism is the world's fifth largest 
     religion, with over 25 million followers. Sikhs began 
     settling in Indiana more than 50 years ago, and the community 
     established its first gurdwara (Sikh house of worship) in 
     1999. We estimate that there are at least 8,000-10,000 Sikhs 
     who currently live in Indiana. In the last two decades, the 
     Sikh population in greater Indianapolis has experienced 
     significant growth. As a community that has proudly been a 
     part of the Indiana fabric for generations, Sikhs deserve to 
     be safe in their workplaces, homes, schools, and houses of 
     worship--without hate and bias.
       We recognize that a motive has not yet been established by 
     law enforcement; however, the attacker's knowledge of the 
     demographics of this workplace and who he was targeting, as 
     well as his personal history must be taken into account in 
     order to acknowledge the impact of hate, bias and white 
     supremacist activity affecting our communities. Based on 
     public reporting, the shooter allegedly had a propensity for 
     violence--something his mother had previously warned law 
     enforcement about. On March 3, 2020 Brandon Hole's mother 
     went to the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department 
     (IMPD) after her son had purchased a shotgun. She warned law 
     enforcement that her son might commit ``suicide by cop.'' At 
     this time, FBI agents stated that they did not identify Hole 
     as espousing a racially motivated ideology . However, 
     according to April 20, 2021 media reports, when IMPD officers 
     went to the family's home, one of the officers went upstairs 
     to seize the shotgun and ``observed what through his training 
     and experience indicated was white supremist websites'' on 
     Hole's computer. At the time, officers also reportedly 
     notified the criminal intelligence unit about what was 
     observed on Hole's computer and took the shotgun to the 
     police department's property room with ``seized by dangerous 
     person'' written on the inventory sheet. To that end, the 
     Sikh Coalition strongly urges both the IMPD and the FBI to 
     fully investigate Mr. Hole's attack on the Indianapolis FedEx 
     facility, including all bias motivating factors which may be 
     at play.
       It was no accident that the shooter targeted this 
     particular FedEx facility where he had previously worked and 
     knew was overwhelmingly staffed by Sikhs. This was not a 
     crime of convenience or a spur-of-the-moment attack; it was 
     one of methodical planning and selection. As such, we implore 
     your office to help ensure that there is an unfettered 
     investigation into motive, without leaving any stone unturned 
     regarding bias as a motivating factor. We also ask that your 
     office ensure that these concerns are not prematurely 
     dismissed.
       The most recent available FBI data shows that 2019 was the 
     deadliest year for hate crimes. Sadly, Sikhs were once again 
     among the top five faith groups targeted on the

[[Page E453]]

     basis of religion. As members of a religious minority who 
     have been frequently targeted in violent attacks, often 
     motivated by bias, we remain deeply concerned about how bias, 
     bigotry and the resulting backlash impact all of our 
     communities.
       To address these broader concerns, we request that your 
     office stand in solidarity with the Sikh community and other 
     minority communities and pledge action that will ensure the 
     safety of your constituents by supporting the policy goals 
     shared below:
       1. Unequivocally demand that local, state, and federal law 
     enforcement agencies conduct a comprehensive and thorough 
     investigation into the shooter's motive including accurately 
     identifying any nexus to white supremacist ideology based on 
     the shooter's personal history. Doing so would signal to your 
     constituents that no one should be targeted because of their 
     race, color, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, 
     gender, gender identity, or disability.
       2. Improve hate crime reporting by passing the recently re-
     introduced Jabara-Heyer NO HATE Act [H.R. 2383/S. 1086] and 
     ensuring that all law enforcement agencies are required to 
     report hate crimes.This should be part of a larger initiative 
     that prioritizes data collection, a key component of civil 
     rights enforcement and ensuring compliance with federal hate 
     crime and nondiscrimination laws.
       3. Close the loophole that limits federal prosecution of 
     mixed-motive hate crimes by reintroducing and passing the 
     Justice for Victims of Hate Crime Act. To effectively combat 
     hate crimes, law enforcement and advocates need the tools to 
     hold offenders accountable and ensure our justice system 
     protects all Americans. This important change addresses a 
     split in federal courts on the interpretation of the motive 
     requirement in the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr., Hate 
     Crimes Prevention Act of 2009 that currently leaves many 
     victims without justice.
       4. Reintroduce and pass the Disarm Hate Act to keep weapons 
     of mass destruction out of the hands of dangerous 
     individuals. Shooters opening fire on houses of worship, 
     community centers, and other soft targets are becoming far 
     too common. More than 10,000 hate crimes in the U.S. involved 
     a firearm. Anyone who has been convicted of a misdemeanor 
     hate crime should not be allowed to jeopardize the peace of 
     communities.
       5. Request state and federal funding for 360-degree victim 
     assistance services that include language accessible hate 
     crime reporting, mental health services, comprehensive 
     trauma-informed support, and technical assistance and 
     advocates for victims and survivors of hate crimes and mass 
     casualty incidents such as these.
       We are also happy to provide resources, sample social media 
     messaging, information on the Sikh community, and guidance on 
     how to support the aforementioned recommendations. If you 
     would like us to keep you informed about vigils or other ways 
     to support the Indianapolis Sikh community, please let us 
     know and we will make sure to share those with you.
       We thank you for your efforts to help protect the 
     communities we serve and look forward to working with your 
     office to move these important policy priorities forward.
           Sincerely,
                                                     Sim J. Singh,
     Sikh Coalition.

                          ____________________