'We all mourn': Community honors FedEx shooting victims at Plymouth gurdwara
Written by: Slone Terranella and Niraj Warikoo (Detroit Free Press)
In the parking lot of Plymouth's Mata Tripta Ji Gurdwara Sahib, a familiar sense of sorrow cloaked community members as they prayed for the Indianapolis FedEx facility shooting victims on Sunday.
It was a feeling gurdwara members felt before as they placed memorial candles in front of the building. The vigil was held at the same house of worship where hundreds gathered nine years ago for a vigil after a white supremacist fatally shot six Sikhs at a Sikh temple in Oak Creek, Wisconsin, in 2012.
Members of the local Sikh community listen to speakers during a vigil at the Plymouth Gurudwara Sahib in honor of four members of the Sikh community who were killed during a mass shooting at a FedEx Facility in Indianapolis last week. Antranik Tavitian, Detroit Free Press
On Thursday, 19-year-old Brandon Scott Hole shot and killed eight people and wounded several others at a FedEx Ground Plainfield Operations Center, USA Today reports. Hole died by suicide, and four of the eight shooting victims belonged to the Sikh community.
During Sunday's vigil, Sona Sandhu, 41, of Northville, said when news first broke of the shooting, her first reaction was sadness. Her second thought, she said, centered on the need to improve cultural awareness.
"We all have to treat each other equally. This is America. This is a melting pot," she said. "We all should respect and value each other's religious beliefs, and each other's appearances. Sikhs, they have a different appearance than most other Americans, and I think people need to educate themselves, or maybe we as a Sikh faith have to come up and start educating people better."
From left, Guraman Kaur, 11, lights Rajwinder Kaur's candle, mother, as Manpreet Kaur listens to speakers during a vigil at the Plymouth Gurudwara Sahib in honor of four members of the Sikh community who were killed during a mass shooting at a FedEx Facility in Indianapolis last week. Antranik Tavitian, Detroit Free Press
Sandhu said she hopes there is more education regarding different values and cultures, but she also hopes for more gun laws.
Joining members of the gurdwara Sunday was FedEx worker Veronica Goldwater, 64, of Lincoln Park, who said she showed up to support the Sikh and FedEx communities.
"We all mourn. We are a FedEx family. When one is hurt, we are all still bleeding," she said. "We call it bleeding purple."
Goldwater said she found out about Thursday's shooting when she woke up for work and turned on the radio. She instantly heard the broadcast announcing eight people had been killed at a FedEx facility. However, she still needed to go to work that day.
"It was quiet, everybody was quiet. We still did our jobs," Goldwater said. "We were trying to figure out if it was an employee, if it was from someone outside or if it was ongoing. We did not know until the next day."
Birinderjit Singh lights a candle during a vigil at the Plymouth Gurudwara Sahib in honor of four members of the Sikh community who were killed during a mass shooting at a FedEx Facility in Indianapolis last week. Antranik Tavitian, Detroit Free Press
Goldwater said her heart goes out to everyone affected by the situation, and fear lingers in the back of her mind when she goes into work now.
"Everyone (victims) was there just making a living. It's hard when a lot of people are still at home and that we, FedEx, we're essential," Goldwater said.
The parents of state Rep. Ranjeev Puri, D-Canton, the first Sikh to serve in the Michigan Legislature, helped establish the Sikh temple in Oak Creek that was targeted in 2012. Two days before the FedEx shooting, Sikhs were celebrating Vaisakhi, an annual religious holiday. Puri took part in an online forum Tuesday to celebrate Vaisakhi with Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow, and other politicians.
And now, Puri and other Sikhs are mourning those killed at the FedEx facility in Indiana.
“I am exhausted, I am broken, I have no more tears left to shed,” Puri wrote on Twitter on Friday. “It is seemingly everyday we are hearing of innocent lives lost to gun violence. My heart aches for all the victims of the shooting in Indianapolis — which include members of the Sikh community.”
Members from other gurdwaras also came to support and honor the victims.
Harpreet Singh tests a speaker before starting a vigil at the Plymouth Gurudwara Sahib in honor of four members of the Sikh community who were killed during a mass shooting at a FedEx Facility in Indianapolis last week. Antranik Tavitian, Detroit Free Press
Birinderjit Singh, 40, of Canton, is part of the Singh Sabha of Michigan located in Canton. He said elected officials must act to prevent this kind of senseless violence.
"Unfortunately, most of the victims (FedEx shooting) were Sikhs. As Sikhs because of the way we look, we are always misunderstood," Singh said. "We want all of these politicians to not always favor the lobbies, but also think about the citizens because we are the ones who pay the taxes."
Singh said he hopes politicians can enact legislative change to ensure this situation doesn't happen again.
"I would like to give my message to all of the politicians because we can only hope," Singh said. "Everything like amendments, they (politicians) have to do it. Our job is to vote for them and to elect. After that, their job is to take action."
In addition to the Plymouth temple, the Sikh community in metro Detroit has religious centers in Sterling Heights, Rochester Hills, Canton and Brownstown Township.