Tragedy struck at a FedEx facility in Indianopolis Thursday night after 9 people were killed including the gunman who opened fire late Thursday.
No police officers were hurt in the shooting but the shooter was a former employee of FedEx.
The shooter has been identified as 19-year-old Brandon Scott Hole of Indiana. Investigators searched the shooter's home and seized desktop computers and other electronic media.
According to Indiana police the motive of the gunman on opening fire Thursday night at a FedEx processing centre near the Indianapolis airport is not known. The shooter started randomly firing at people in the parking lot and then went into the building and continued shooting.
Most employees aren't allowed to have cellphones inside the FedEx building, making contact with them difficult and to know what happened to loved ones made the wait for the families even worse.
FedEx said in a statement that cellphone access is limited to a small number of workers in the dock and package sorting areas to “support safety protocols and minimize potential distractions.”
4 people were killed outside the building and another 4 inside. Several people were also injured including 5 who were taken to hospital.
The victims names and identities have not been released.
— FedEx (@FedEx) April 16, 2021"We have a team onsite in Indianapolis to provide support, and we are making counselors available. This is a devastating day, and words are hard to describe the emotions we all feel." Read Frederick W. Smith's letter to team members: https://t.co/hs53dTkax8
— FedEx (@FedEx) April 16, 2021
The majority of employees at the FedEx facility are members of the Sikh community. The Sikh Coalition issued a statement on Twitter saying it was “deeply saddened to learn” that Sikh community members were among the wounded and killed.
Our statement on emerging news regarding the shooting at the Indianapolis FedEx facility: pic.twitter.com/655bjn4wlc
— Sikh Coalition (@sikh_coalition) April 16, 2021
Vice President of the US Kamala Harris shared her sorrow over the sensless violence in Indianapolis.
Our nation grieves with the families who lost loved ones in Indianapolis and we pray that those who were wounded recover quickly. As I said last week, we’ve had more tragedy than we can bear and solutions to prevent gun violence exist. @POTUS and I urge Congress to act.
— Vice President Kamala Harris (@VP) April 16, 2021
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi shared her anger and grief over Twitter.
Horrified & heartbroken by this news. As we pray for the families of all affected, we must work urgently to enact commonsense gun violence prevention laws to save lives & prevent this suffering. https://t.co/BSUmZNYOrD
— Nancy Pelosi (@SpeakerPelosi) April 16, 2021
The killings marked the latest in a recent spate of mass shootings across the nation and the third mass shooting this year in Indianapolis.