INDIANAPOLIS — Nearly one year after eight people were killed in a mass shooting at a FedEx Ground facility in Indianapolis, five families of the people who were killed, along with their attorneys, have filed a federal lawsuit.
The families of Amarjeet Johal, Amarjit Sekhon, Jasvinder Kaur, John “Steve” Weisert and Karli Smith filed the lawsuit against FedEx Corporation, FedEx Ground Package System, Inc, Federal Express Corporation, FedEx Corporate Services, Inc and Securitas Securtity Services USA.
The complaint is for personal injuries and wrongful death.
Gary Johal, son of Amarjeet Johal, described his mom as selfless and a strong pillar of her family.
"She was the world to us all," Gary Johal said. "Losing her is one of the biggest devastation in our life. I'm still trying to process the whole situation."
Johal says there are multiple parties that need to be held accountable.
"It doesn't seem like they care. They still don't care. We need some justice," he said. "We need to see that this doesn't happen again."
Matt Alexander called his daughter Karli Smith's death extremely traumatic.
"It's an ongoing process for me to try to comprehend because no one should ever have to bury their child," Alexander said. "If something can be done to even slightly increase the procedures and the policies and not just FedEx but everywhere else ... as a way to prevent any other family, any other person from going through this senseless tragedy."
Both attorneys who spoke called the mass shooting preventable.
"If we didn't believe sincerely in this case and the flaws in what happened that led to this ... we wouldn't be here," attorney Melvin L Hewitt Jr. said.
Hewitt says his firm was sought out and they did not contact victim's families who did not contact them.
Attorney Daniel S. Chamberlain says there will not be a lawsuit brought against the City of Indianapolis, Marion County or the prosecutor's office by them.
"As far as the loss, it's still the same. It still hurts the same ... my mother was everything to me," Johal said. "I can't see myself moving forward at this moment at least without the justice that we deserve, the justice that all the families deserve."
In an interview with WRTV Tuesday, Chamberlain said the case "screams out for justice" and that both FedEx and Securitas did not do what they were supposed to do.
"If we're successful, it's going to change the corporate culture, the mindset of Americans. Look, no way to solve an issue by way of gun and frankly employers need to understand that, need to appreciate that and need to prevent the foreseeable shooting of other employees and individuals," he told WRTV's Rafael Sanchez. "This should be applicable to every person who has a job in the United States of America."
You can watch the full interview below.
Johal says he does not believe the shooting was a targeted hate crime since some of the victims were not members of the Sikh community.
Alexander says Karli was a kind and giving person who had a big impact on her friends and family.
"Personally, this is a never-ending struggle. This will not stop," Alexander said.
A spokesperson for FedEx released the following statement:
“We continue to mourn the loss of our team members in the senseless tragedy that occurred nearly one year ago. FedEx Ground’s top priority is the safety of our team, and we have provided and continue to offer support in multiple ways to those affected, including employee assistance programs that are available 24/7, as well as the establishment of the Indianapolis 4/15 Survivors Fund in coordination with the National Compassion Fund. We are aware of the lawsuits and are reviewing the allegations in this claim.”
A spokesperson for Securitas USA tells WRTV it "does not comment on pending litigation."
COUNT I: General Negligence
COUNT II: Failure to Warn
COUNT III: Failure to Keep Premises Safe
COUNT IV: Negligence- Failure to Provide Adequate Security as to Defendant Securitas
COUNT V: Negligent hiring, training and supervision as to defendant FedEx Corp…
COUNT VI: Negligent hiring, training and supervision as to defendant Securitas
You can read the full lawsuit document below.
You can watch the full press conference below.
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