INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — The man who police say fatally shot eight people at a FedEx facility in Indianapolis is a former employee. FedEx spokesperson Bonny Harrison released the information Friday. She says company officials can’t speculate on a motive but are working closely with investigators.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Police scoured a Fedex facility in Indianapolis and searched the suspected gunman’s home Friday, looking for a motive for the latest mass shooting to rock the U.S., as family members of the eight victims spent agonizing hours awaiting word on their loved ones.
The shooter was identified as 19-year-old Brandon Scott Hole of Indiana, two law enforcement officials briefed on the matter told The Associated Press. Investigators searched a home in Indianapolis associated with Hole and seized evidence, including desktop computers and other electronic media, the officials said. The officials spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly about the matter.
Indianapolis police said earlier that they had not yet discovered the gunman’s motive for opening fire with a rifle late Thursday night at a FedEx processing center near the Indianapolis airport. The shooter started randomly firing at people in the parking lot and then went into the building and continued shooting, said Deputy Police Chief Craig McCartt. He said the shooter apparently killed himself shortly before police entered the building.
“There was no confrontation with anyone that was there,” he said. “There was no disturbance, there was no argument. He just appeared to randomly start shooting.”
McCartt said four people were killed outside the building and another four inside. Several people were also wounded, including five who were taken to the hospital. McCartt said the slayings took place in a matter of minutes.
Officials with the coroner’s office began the process of identifying victims Friday afternoon, a process they said would take several hours.
Police Chief Randal Taylor noted that a “significant” number of employees at the FedEx facility are members of the Sikh community, and the Sikh Coalition later issued a statement saying it was “deeply saddened to learn” that Sikh community members were among the wounded and killed.
The coalition, which identifies itself as the largest Sikh civil rights organization in the U.S., said in the statement that it expected authorities to “conduct a full investigation — including the possibility of bias as a factor.” The coalition’s executive director, Satjeet Kaur, noted that more than 8,000 Sikh Americans live in Indiana.
