NewsU.S. and the World

Actions

These are their faces: The victims who died in the FedEx mass shooting in Indianapolis

Indyshootingvictims.jpg
Posted at 7:17 AM, Apr 19, 2021
and last updated 2021-04-19 09:17:54-04

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. — These are the faces of the eight people who lost their lives on the night of Thursday, April 15 in a deadly mass shooting at a FedEx Ground facility in Indianapolis.

The victims' ages range from 19 to 74.

Karli Smith, 19

Karli Smith.png

"She was amazing."

Karli Smith is one of 10 siblings. Her family describes her as being "bubbly, happy, and always smiling."

Karli's mother, Karen Smith, said her daughter was extremely intuitive and never failed to learn from her mistakes.

"She learned from what she did and she took responsibility for the things that she did, if she did something wrong. She didn't blame anybody else."

The 19-year-old attended Crispus Attucks and George Washington High Schools. She graduated from George Washington in 2020.

Karen also told WRTV that her daughter had just started working at FedEx the week before she was shot and killed. She had only just received her first paycheck on Thursday.

Karli is one of two victims under the age of 21.

Samaria Blackwell, 19

Samaria Blackwell.png

"Samaria loved people, especially those of advanced age. She always found time to invest in the older generation, whether it was by listening or serving."

Samaria Blackwell was known as an intelligent, straight-A student who was a fun-loving, tenacious daughter, sister, and friend.

The 19-year-old was the baby in a family of six.

Samaria's parents, Tammi and Jeff Blackwell, wrote in remembrance of Samaria:

"On this side of heaven we grieve, but not as those who have no hope, for we recognize Samaria's life has only just begun."

A family spokesperson and longtime family friend, Chaplin Matthew Barnes, says Samaria played both soccer and basketball with his daughters. He says the Blackwell's told him Samaria only worked at the facility for about two months.

Samaria, a beloved resident of the Avon community, had a passion for helping people and wanted to be a police officer one day.

Matthew R. Alexander, 32

matthew alexander  (1).png
Matthew Alexander, 32. One of his best friends, Johsua Betustak, said this is “a picture of him with his favorite baseball team’s at the Indy 500 tailgating.”

Matthew Alexander was a happy, go-lucky person.

A former co-worker of the 32-year-old says he was a dispatcher for FedEx and always took care of his drivers. If someone brought treats, he would save some for when drivers got back.

Matthew was always known as someone who would do whatever it took to make his co-workers' lives easier.

The co-worker of Matthew's told WRTV that he was the kind of guy anyone would want to work with.

Amarjit Sekhon, 48

Amarjit Kaur Sekhon.png

Amarjit Kaur Sekhon was known as a hard worker in her family.

“She would never sit still ... the other day she had the (COVID-19) shot and she was really sick, but she still went to work," Amarjit's brother-in-law Kuldip Sekhon told ABC News.

"The breadwinner in the family. Amazing person. Perfect, in everything," her niece described to ABC News.

She had just recently moved to Indianapolis from Ohio to be closer to family.

Amarjit had started working at FedEx in November.

Jasvinder Kaur, 50

Jasvinder Kaur.png

Jasvinder Kaur commuted to FedEx often with Amarjit Kaur Sekhon (above).

Jasvinder was known as a charming woman, the family tells ABC.

She and Amarjit were both found in their car the night of the shooting.

Amarjeet Johal, 66

Amarjeet Kaur Johal.png

It was Amarjeet Johal's birthday Thursday — the night of her tragic death.

She worked a double on Thursday so as to have the day off Friday for a wedding celebration for her granddaughter.

"She still had her check in her hand when they found her," Amarjeet's granddaughter told WRTV.

WRTV is still working to learn more about the life of Amarjeet.

Jaswinder Singh, 68

Jaswinder Singh.png

“He (was) always smiling."

Jaswinder Singh was known as a loving man who really didn't need to work, but loved to be around people and his "buddies."

"I didn’t hear him say even one bad word from his mouth in (his) whole life. He love everyone. Always smiling when he see you, he had a big smile,” Harjap Singh Dillon, Jaswinder's sister’s father-in-law, told WRTV.

John Weisert, 74

John Weisert.png

John Weisert — known as Steve — was an Air Force veteran.

The 74-year-old was a mechanical engineer who was downsized. He took a job at FedEx about four years ago to make ends meet.

John's family says he liked to play country, western, and bluegrass music on guitar and watch wrestling on TV. He was also a fan of action movies and classic films.

This story was originally published by Shakkira Harris at WRTV.