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

A prominent Sikh advocacy group is calling for an investigation into the Indianapolis shooting to determine if racial bias played a role in the attack.

The New York-based Sikh Coalition said in a statement Saturday that it was calling for the role after police revealed no motives yet for this week’s shooting, which killed eight, including four members of the Sikh community. 

“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. Further traumatizing is the reality that many of these community members, like Sikhs we have worked with in the past, will eventually have to return to the place where their lives were almost taken from them.”

The victims of the Thursday shooting were identified as 32-year-old Matthew R. Alexander, 19-year-old Samaria Blackwell, 66-year-old Amarjeet Johal, 64-year-old Jaswinder Kaur, 68-year-old Jaswinder Singh, 48-year-old Amarjit Sekhon, 19-year-old Karlie Smith and 74-year-old John Weisert. 

Authorities have said the gunman was a 19-year-old former Fedex employee who died by a self-inflicted gunshot wound. 

A shooting earlier this year at Atlanta-area spas also killed eight people, including six women of Asian descent, sparking alarm over rising violence against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. 

The attacks have led to calls for new legislation to combat hate crimes as well as ramp up gun control measures. 

“Too many Americans are dying every single day from gun violence. It stains our character and pierces the very soul of our nation,” President Biden said Friday. “We can, and must, do more to act and to save lives.”