Police on Friday combed a FedEx facility in Indianapolis and searched the home of the alleged assailant in search of a reason for the latest shooting massacre that has shocked the United States, while relatives of the eight Fatal victims lived hours of anguish waiting for news from their loved ones.
The assailant was identified as 19-year-old Brandon Scott Hole, Deputy Chief of Police Craig McCartt told a news conference. Investigators searched a home in Indianapolis associated with Hole and confiscated evidence, including computers, McCartt said.
Hole had worked for FedEx until 2020, McCartt noted, but added that he did not know why he stopped working for the company or if he had ties to employees at the attacked facility.
He said police have yet to find a reason for Thursday’s shooting, but said police confiscated a gun from him last year. McCartt also reported that authorities are still identifying the victims and that not all families have yet been notified.
The assailant shot at random people in the parking lot; he entered the building and continued firing, McCartt said. In the opinion, the attacker committed suicide by shooting shortly after the police entered the building, he added.
“There was no confrontation with anyone there,” he added. “There was no altercation, no discussion. He just showed up and started shooting right and left.”
McCartt said four people were killed outside the building and four never inside. Several people were also injured, five of whom were taken to hospital. McCartt noted that the massacre took place within minutes.
Officers from the forensic office began the process of identifying the victims on Friday afternoon, which, they said, will take several hours.
Police Chief Randal Taylor said a “considerable” number of employees at the FedEx facility are members of the Sikh community, and the Sij Coalition said in a statement that it had “deep regret to know “that members of the Sikh community were among the dead and wounded.
The coalition, which is described as the largest Sikh civil rights organization in the United States, said in a statement it hoped the authorities would “conduct a thorough investigation, including the possibility that prejudice has been a factor.” Coalition executive director Satjeet Kaur has stressed that more than 8,000 Sikh Americans live in Indiana.
The distressing wait for workers ’families was exacerbated by the fact that most employees are not allowed to have cell phones inside the FedEx building, making it difficult to communicate with them.
“Sometimes you get notifications on your phone but you don’t get text response from your child and no information and you don’t know where it is … what are you supposed to do?” Mindy Carson, Jessica’s daughter, works at FedEx on Friday.