On April 15, 2021, a mass shooting occurred at a FedEx Ground facility in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. Nine people were killed, including the gunman, 19-year-old Brandon Scott Hole, who committed suicide. Seven others were injured, including four by gunfire.[1][4][5][6] It remains the deadliest mass shooting in the history of Indiana.[2]
The FedEx facility where the shooting occurred is located in southwestern Indianapolis, near Indianapolis International Airport.[7] Its entrance is equipped with metal detectors and turnstiles, requiring employees to scan their FedEx badges for entry.[8] At the time of the shooting, around 100 people were present within the building, many of whom were either changing shifts or on lunch breaks.[9][10]
Events
Upon arriving at the facility, Hole first entered the building to speak with security before returning to his vehicle.[2] Moments later, according to Indianapolis police, he exited his vehicle and began firing a rifle at employees in the parking lot. Hole then proceeded to the facility's entrance, maintaining his barrage of gunfire. Blocked from further entry by a full-height turnstile, he fired at employees on the other side before exiting and resuming fire on those in the parking lot. One employee fired back with a handgun, but the shot missed.[11] A witness reported hearing Hole shouting, though his words were unclear. Other witnesses stated that the company's policy against personal cell phones hindered those inside from calling for help.[12] The shooting lasted less than four minutes, concluding when Hole re-entered the building and committed suicide.[13]
Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department officers responded to the scene shortly after 11:00 p.m. local time.[1] Hole was already dead upon their arrival.[13][14] Police dispatch audio indicated that he was found with two rifles.[15]
Victims
There were nine fatalities in the shooting, including the perpetrator.[6][16] The eight victims, whose ages ranged from 19 to 74, included four individuals found dead outside the facility and four more found inside.[17] Four of the victims were members of the local Sikh community,[18][19] which, according to the local police chief, comprised approximately 90% of the facility's workforce.[20] Four other individuals sustained gunshot wounds and were hospitalized, one in critical condition. A fifth person sought treatment in another county, and two others were treated at the scene before being released.[1][4][6]
The following were killed in the shooting: Matthew Alexander, 32; Samaria Blackwell, 19; Amarjeet Johal, 66; Jasvinder Kaur, 50; Amarjit Sekhon, 48; Jaswinder Singh, 68; Karli Smith, 19; and John Weisert, 74.[21]
Perpetrator
Police identified the gunman as Brandon Scott Hole (August 20, 2001[22] – April 15, 2021), a former FedEx employee. Hole had worked at the FedEx facility from August to October 2020 before being terminated for absenteeism.[13][23] Following the shooting, authorities conducted a search of his home and seized evidence, including electronics.[6][7][24] While an investigation of archived content from Hole's deleted Facebook accounts did not reveal a motive, it did indicate that he was a "brony", a male fan of the children's television series My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic. Less than an hour before the shooting, Hole posted to Facebook: "I hope that I can be with Applejack in the afterlife, my life has no meaning without her. If there's no afterlife and she isn't real then my life never mattered anyway."[25] The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) concluded that the shooting was "an act of suicidal murder" intended to "demonstrate his masculinity and capability while fulfilling a final desire to experience killing people".[2]
Hole's father committed suicide in 2004.[26] From fourth grade onward, Hole was diagnosed with several behavioral disorders, including disruptive behavior disorder, anxiety disorder, and autism spectrum disorder.[27][28] His behavioral problems led to police being called to the home on at least two occasions and his inability to finish school.[2] In 2013, at age 11, Hole was arrested for physically attacking his mother, resulting in probation and counseling.[29] A more serious incident occurred in March 2020 when Hole's mother warned the local authorities that her son intended to commit suicide by cop and had recently purchased a .410Mossberg 500pump-action shotgun. Police took Hole to a hospital and seized the shotgun, with an officer observing what appeared to be white supremacist websites on his computer.[13][30][31] Hole was placed on a temporary mental health hold, but was released in less than two hours.[2][32] The FBI questioned him the following month about the websites, but the investigation was closed due to insufficient evidence of any criminal violation or a racially motivated extremist ideology.[33][34][35]
Hole used two AR-15 style rifles in the shooting, both legally purchased from a licensed gun store in July and September 2020.[31][36] Despite the March 2020 incident, Indiana's red flag law, which could have prevented Hole from making firearm purchases for at least six months after his detainment, was not fully invoked. Marion Countyprosecutors prosecutors did not schedule a hearing within the required fourteen days after the shotgun seizure, believing the law's objective was met since Hole's family did not want the shotgun back.[30][37] Prosecutor Ryan Mears noted that if his office had proceeded with the hearing and lost, they would have been forced to return the shotgun, given Hole had been treated but not prescribed medication.[38]
Aftermath and reactions
On April 16, PresidentJoe Biden ordered flags to be flown at half-staff. He and Vice President Kamala Harris released statements expressing their condolences with the victims' families. Later, during a press conference with Japanese Prime MinisterYoshihide Suga, Biden decried the recent string of mass shootings in the United States as a "national embarrassment" and called on Congress to ban military-style assault weapons and large-capacity ammunition magazines.[39][40] On April 18, Hole's family apologized to the victims' families for his actions.[41] On April 20, Governor Eric Holcomb announced his intention to restore full funding for mental health services and bolster it over the next two years.[42]Democratic state politicians made calls to review and strengthen the red flag law, but this was put on hold after the 2021 legislative session ended on April 22.[38]
Indian Foreign MinisterS. Jaishankar said the incident was deeply shocking and offered all possible assistance, as some of the victims were of Indian origin.[18] Since four of the victims were members of the Sikh community and Hole had browsed white supremacist websites in the past, the Sikh Coalition, a Sikh-American advocacy group, called on authorities to investigate whether bias played a role in the shooting.[43]
Following the shooting, attention was directed at Indiana's red flag law for its requirements to prohibit someone from owning a firearm, which was not carried out when authorities seized a shotgun from Hole; this allowed him to purchase the guns he used in the shooting.[30] The Indiana Fraternal Order of Police criticized Marion County Prosecutor Ryan Mears for sidestepping the process and "[failing] to do his part", while Mears criticized the red flag law for having too many "loopholes".[37][38] FedEx's no-phone policy, which seemed to prevent people from contacting employees at the facility during the shooting, was also scrutinized.[49]
On April 23, 2022, eight trees memorializing the victims were planted at Arsenal Park in Indianapolis. The planting was sponsored by the Sikh Coalition and hosted by Keep Indianapolis Beautiful and the Eway Foundation.[50]
On April 13, 2023, victims and families of the shooting filed a lawsuit against the U.S. distributor of the high-capacity magazine (60 rounds) used in the assault, American Tactical Inc., two company executives, and the German manufacturer, Schmeisser GmbH.[51][52]
↑ Mervosh, Sarah; Bahr, Sarah; Lynch, Amy; Chokshi, Niraj; Chiarito, Robert; Morales, Christina; Wright, Will; Martínez, Andrés R. (April 16, 2021). "Names of the eight victims were released by the authorities". The New York Times. Retrieved April 17, 2021.
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