INDIANAPOLIS — Eight employees of an Indianapolis FedEx Ground facility clocked into work three years ago and never came home because of a mass shooting. A new memorial at the site will ensure their names are never forgotten.
An eternal flame at the FedEx facility's entrance was unveiled Tuesday with the victims' families in attendance. The memorial to the state's deadliest mass shooting is made of Indiana limestone and granite engraved with the names of the eight employees who died on April 15, 2021:
- 32-year-old Matt Alexander
- 19-year-old Samaria Blackwell
- 66-year-old Amarjeet Johal
- 50-year-old Jasvinder Kaur
- 48-year-old Amarjit Sekhon
- 68-year-old Jaswinder Singh
- 19-year-old Karli Smith
- 74-year-old John Steven Weisert
"Eight people who had families, had lives, had jobs, had kids," said Michelle Alexander, the only sibling of victim Matt Alexander. "All of a sudden that was taken away."
"These eight individuals, they didn't ask for this to happen," said Matt's father, Brad Alexander.
The Alexanders say the memorial has turned a painful place into a place where they can find peace.
"There's a lot of times where I would just like to have quiet time with my brother, and I'm not a huge fan of going to cemeteries," Michelle Alexander said.
"I wasn't quite sure how I was going to feel stepping on the grounds where this happened," Brad Alexander said. "To come back for the first time, the monument really helps me."
FedEx paid for the memorial and constructed it with input from the victim's families. The Alexanders say the memorial has already helped families and employees grieve together.
"We heard so many stories and things about him from co-workers that we hadn't heard before," said Matt's mother, Debby Alexander. "He was loved by all."
The memorial is open to the public.
