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Sikh advocacy group calls for investigation into racial bias in Indianapolis shooting

Saturday, 17 April 2021 6:19 PM [ Last Update: Saturday, 17 April 2021 6:25 PM ]

Leaders of the Sikh Satsang of Indianapolis participate in an interview addressing their grief in the parking lot of their temple on April 16, 2021 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by AFP)

A Sikh advocacy group has called for an investigation into a FedEx operations center in US city of Indianapolis amid an unprecedented spike in anti-Asian hate in the United States.

The New York-based Sikh Coalition said in a statement Saturday that it was calling for probe into racism after police revealed no motives yet for the shooting in Indiana's state capital, which killed eight, including four members of the Sikh community and the gunman who is believed to have taken his own life.

Mass shooting in Indianapolis; at least eight dead, 60 wounded

“No further information about his possible motive has been released at this time, but we fully expect that authorities should and will conduct a full investigation--including the possibility of bias as a factor,” the group said.

“We extend our deepest condolences to the victims of this horrific violence,” added Satjeet Kaur, Sikh Coalition Executive Director. “While we don’t yet know the motive of the shooter, he targeted a facility known to be heavily populated by Sikh employees, and the attack is traumatic for our community as we continue to face senseless violence.”

Police said on Friday they had yet to determine what motivated the gunman, 19-year-old Brandon Hole, who was white, to carry out Thursday night's rampage, at a FedEx operations center near Indianapolis International Airport.

The majority of employees at the FedEx site were Sikhs.

The attack in the third most populous city in the Midwest, was the latest in a spate of at least seven deadly mass shootings in the United States over the past month.

Anti-Asian sentiment and racism is not a new phenomena in US history.

Violent incidents against Asian Americans see unprecedented spike

Asian-Americans have experienced prejudice for decades. It has even intensified during the COVID-19 pandemic since the former US President Donald Trump dubbed coronavirus “Chinese virus.”

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