Late Thursday night, a mass shooting at a FedEx facility in Indianapolis left at least eight people dead and several others injured, police said.
The suspected shooter is Brandon Scott Hole, a 19-year-old Indiana man.
NBC News: This is the photo of the alleged shooter, Brandon Scott Hole, 19 in the Indianapolis FedEx shooting that left 8 dead, according to a police spokesperson.
Story here: https://t.co/0BvEw1fDKv pic.twitter.com/rPeHB5pXMW
— Tom Winter (@Tom_Winter) April 16, 2021
Last year, FBI Indianapolis Special Agent in Chage Paul Keenan were dispatched to Hole’s home after his mother warned he might be seeking “suicide by cop.” At that time, he was armed with a shotgun, which was confiscated as he was placed in custody and taken for mental health treatment.
Based on the items police saw in Hole’s bedroom the FBI was called to interview Hole. Keenan said, “No Racially Motivated Violent Extremism (RMVE) ideology was identified during the course of the assessment and no criminal violation was found.”
Up to date, it is still not clear how Hole obtained the rifle that he used in Thursday’s attack.
On Friday night, Indianapolis police identified the eight victims killed in Thursday’s mass shooting.
1. March 2020 – Mom told police he might try to commit suicide by cop
2. Placed on temporary mental health hold. Released.
3. Interviewed by FBI April 2020👇🏾
Authorities were warned about FedEx gunman Brandon Hole's potential for violence, sources sayhttps://t.co/Vb0LmjK9xg
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They are 32-year-old Matthew Alexander, 19-year-old Samaria Blackwell, 66-year-old Amarjeet Johal, 64-year-old Jasvinder Kaur, 68-year-old Jaswinder Singh, 48-year-old Amarjit Skhon, 19-year-old Karlie Smith and 74-year-old John Weisert.
Police added that there were at least five other people who were hospitalized but in stable condition after the gunfire.
According to the statement by Keenan, in March 2020, Hole’ mother contacted law enforcement to report he might try to commit ‘suicide by cop.’ The suspect was placed on an immediate detention mental health temporary hold by the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department.”
FedEx officials told Associated Press that Hole was a former employee at the FedEx Indianapolis facility where he opened fire, killing at least eight people and wounding others.
Meanwhile, Biden released a statement about the shooting after being briefed by a Homeland Security team.
Biden said in his statement, “Today’s briefing is just the latest in a string of tragedies, following closely after gunmen firing bullets in broad day light at spas in and around Atlanta, Georgia, a grocery store in Boulder, Colorado, a home in Rock Hill, South Carolina, and so many other shootings.”
The statement continued, “While we await critical details about the shooting, its motivation, and other key information, once again, I have the solemn duty of ordering the flag lowered at half-staff at the White House, public buildings and grounds, and military posts and embassies, just two weeks after I gave the last such order.”
Biden then talked about how Americans are dying from gun violence, saying that too many Americans are dying every single day from gun violence.
Vice President Harris and I have been briefed on the mass shooting at a FedEx facility in Indianapolis. God bless the eight individuals we lost and their loved ones, and we pray for the wounded for their recovery.
We can, and must, do more to reduce gun violence and save lives.
— President Biden (@POTUS) April 16, 2021
“Too many Americans are dying every single day from gun violence. It stains our character and pierces the very soul of our nation. We can, and must, do more to act and to save lives,” Biden said.
Biden said, “God bless the eight fellow Americans we lost in Indianapolis and their loved ones, and we pray for the wounded for their recovery.”
On Thursday, the Indianapolis Colts condemned the night’s shooting at a FedEx faciliy which is just 20 minutes away from the team’s headquarters and called it “another senseless tragedy.”
In relation to this, the team issued a statement on Friday morning which reads, “We at the Colts are deeply shocked and saddened to learn of the horrific act that took place last night in our city.”
The Chief of Indianapolis Police, Randal Taylor called the mass shooting a “senseless crime that will not soon leave our memory.” Taylor added, “This is unacceptable for Indianapolis. Our IMPD officers went towards danger as they typically do and when they arrived on the scene they found something that really no one should see. We have all shaken by this heinous act.”
The man accused of shooting and killing 8 people at a FedEx facility was reportedly a "brony," the adult following of My Little Pony.
A post timestamped less than an hour before the shooting featured an image of and a message about a cartoon pony.https://t.co/TPshehjNyB
— Washington Examiner (@dcexaminer) April 17, 2021
“There was no confrontation with anyone that was there, there was no disturbance, there was no argument,” Indianapolis Deputy Police Chief Craig McCartt said. “He just appeared to randomly start shooting and that began in the parking lot and then he did go into the facility for a brief period of time before he took his own life.”
Biden called the shooting in the FedEx facility “the latest in a string of tragedies” and has ordered flags to be “lowered at half-staff at the White House, public buildings and grounds, and military posts and embassies.”
