Suspect in FedEx shooting identified as 19-year-old former employee Brandon Hole
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Crime scene investigators walk through the FedEx parking lot in Indianapolis the day after a mass shooting left nine dead, including the gunman, who took his own life. Photo: Jeff Dean/AFP via Getty Images.
The suspected gunman who killed at least eight people and wounded several others in Indianapolis before killing himself has been identified by local police as 19-year-old Brandon Hole, a former FedEx employee, a company spokesperson told the AP.
The latest: Some of the victims in the deadly attack were identified by local law enforcement on Friday night.
- At least 100 people were in the FedEx warehouse at the time of the shooting, authorities said Friday. Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department Deputy Chief Craig McCartt told reporters that Hole worked at FedEx through 2020. He did not specify the circumstances of Hole’s departure.
- Hole had been identified previously in “a couple” of police reports, including one in which law enforcement seized a firearm from him roughly one year ago, McCartt said.
- Law enforcement has not yet uncovered the shooter's motive.
- Police Chief Randal Taylor said Friday morning that the warehouse employed a "significant" number of Sikhs, AP reports, and the Sikh Coalition confirmed that members of its community were among those who were injured and killed.
President Biden, who was briefed on the shooting by Homeland Security officials Friday, ordered flags at the White House, public buildings and grounds, military posts and embassies to be lowered to half-staff.
- "Gun violence is an epidemic in America. But we should not accept it. We must act," Biden said in a statement, noting the Indianapolis shooting occurred the night before the 14th anniversary of the shooting at Virginia Tech that killed 32 people.
- "Too many Americans are dying every single day from gun violence. It stains our character and pierces the very soul of our nation."
The Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department held a briefing Friday morning, but offered no new major details.
- Paul Keenan, the FBI agent in charge of the Indianapolis field office assisting with the investigation, said it would be "too premature" to speculate on the shooter's motive.
What happened: "The alleged shooter has taken his own life here at the scene," Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department spokesperson Genae Cook said during a news conference early Friday.
- “He just appeared to randomly start shooting,” McCartt said at the morning news conference.
- At least four people were hospitalized, one with critical injuries, and two others were treated at the scene and released, Cook said.
- The gunman is believed to have been acting alone, and there's no longer an "active threat to the community," she added.
What they're saying: FedEx said in a statement Friday that the company was "shocked and saddened" by the shooting and expressed sympathies to "those affected by this senseless act of violence."
- "Our priority right now is in responding to the situation on the ground and helping our team members and law enforcement," FedEx CEO Frederick Smith said Friday in a second statement. "We have a team onsite in Indianapolis to provide support, and we are making counselors available."
The big picture: This is the latest in a string of deadly mass shootings to hit the U.S. since March, reinvigorating the political debate in Washington over gun control.
Editor's note: This article has been updated with new details.
