Queens Sikh community mourns victims of FedEx mass shooting

Lucy Yang Image
Monday, April 19, 2021
Queens Sikh community mourns victims of FfedEx shooting
Queens is more than 700 miles from Indianapolis, but heartbreak knows no distance.

SOUTH RICHMOND HILL, Queens (WABC) -- Queens is more than 700 miles from Indianapolis, but heartbreak knows no distance.



The pain and the loss is also being felt locally as the Sikh Cultural Society of Richmond Hill holds a candlelight vigil for the victims.



They pray every day. The center is open from 4 a.m. until 11 p.m. so that members of the Sikh community of New York can worship in peace. They only wish their fellow Sikhs in Indianapolis could have worked in peace. They lit candles in honor of victims they never met but with whom they feel a deep kinship.





Four members of their faith were murdered in the FedEx mass shooting. Most of the employees of that large processing facility are Sikhs. Half of the victims who were killed are members of the Sikh community are from large and loving families. That hits home in Queens.



The coroner's office has released the names of the eight people who were fatally shot when a man opened fire at a FedEx plant in Indianapolis.


"It's really hard to find a safe place. We are finding so many cases of gun violence. Guns are so easily accessible - no background check, " said 18-year-old Jasmeen Kaur.



Authorities have still not pinpointed a motive for the bloodshed. Brandon Hole, 19, used to work at the Fed Ex processing facility and that his family and law enforcement knew of his mental illness -- yet he was able to purchase two firearms last year, legally.



Officials say Brandon Hole killed himself after claiming so many innocent workers. It's not clear if he meant to target members of the Sikh community or if they just happen to make up most of the workforce at the facility.



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