Indianapolis FedEx Shooting: 5 Things To Know

Updated: 11:35 a.m. ET, Saturday

INDIANAPOLIS, IN — The eyes of the nation are on Indianapolis “in ways that we would never hope,” the city’s mayor said Friday, just hours after a mass shooting at a FedEx facility there left multiple people dead and several more injured.

Indianapolis police are still piecing together what happened when a lone shooter opened fire around 11 p.m. Thursday at the facility, at 8951 Mirabel Road.

The shooter was identified as 19-year-old Brandon Scott Hole of Indiana, two law enforcement officials told The Associated Press.

Police said the shooting lasted no more than two minutes and ended when Hole died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

• RELATED: FBI Interviewed FedEx Shooter Last Year

The shooting in Indianapolis is among 45 mass shootings that have occurred in the United States in the last 30 days, according to a CNN tally. Last month, eight people were fatally shot at massage businesses across the Atlanta area, and 10 died in gunfire at a supermarket in Boulder, Colorado.

Gun violence has grown since the onset of the pandemic, according to data compiled by the Gun Violence Archive. Firearm fatalities increased significantly in April and May 2020 compared with the same months in 2019. Those deaths followed unprecedented spikes in gun purchases, NBC News reported.

"May 2020 has officially had the highest number of mass shootings (56) of any month since we started tracking mass shooting data in 2013,” the Gun Violence Archive said May 31. The study defines mass shootings as four or more shot or killed in a single event.

As the investigation into the latest Indianapolis shooting continues, Mayor Joe Hogsett said Friday no piece of information will restore the lives that were taken.

“What we are left with this morning is grief — grief for the families of those killed, for the employees who lost their co-workers, and for the many Americans who struggle to understand why tragedies like this continue to occur again and again,” Hogsett said.

The investigation into the shooting is ongoing. Here are five things we know so far:

1. Nine people are dead.

In addition to those killed, at least five people suffered gunshot wounds that required hospitalization. At least one person remains in critical condition, according to the Indianapolis Star.

Two people were treated by medics at the scene, and other injured people walked into hospitals in the area, the newspaper reported.

The shooter is also dead. “Preliminary information from evidence at the scene" indicated that he died by suicide, according to The AP.

2. Sources have identified the shooter. His motives are still unknown.

Investigators searched a home in Indianapolis associated with Brandon Hole and seized evidence, including desktop computers and other electronic media, Indianapolis Deputy Police Chief Deputy Craig McCartt confirmed during a Friday news conference.

McCartt also said Hole was a former employee of the company and last worked for FedEx in 2020, though he did not know why Hole left the job or if he was connected to any current employees at the facility.

Paul Keenan, the special agent in charge of the FBI’s Indianapolis field office, said agents questioned Hole last year after his mother called police to say that her son might commit “suicide by cop," The AP reported.

An employee at the FedEx facility told NBC’s “Today” that co-workers told him the shooter was "a well-known worker at this facility."

Employee Levi Miller said he was working his normal shift at the facility when he heard two gunshots from inside the building, followed six shots "fired rapidly," and then another 10 shots.

Miller said he saw a “hooded figure” but was unable to see the shooter’s face, the "Today" show report said.

Earlier Friday, McCartt told reporters the suspect “got out of his car and pretty quickly started shooting randomly outside the facility.” Witnesses told police there was no confrontation or argument with the suspect before he began to shoot.

3. Police on Friday night released the names of those killed.

The Marion County Coroner's Office and Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department released the names of the victims on Friday night.

Those killed in the shooting were: Matthew R. Alexander, 32; Samaria Blackwell, 19; Amarjeet Johal, 66; Jaswinder Kaur, 64; Jaswinder Singh, 68; Amarjit Sekhon, 48; Karli Smith, 19; and John Weisert, 74.

Authorities said four people were killed outside the building and another four inside.

• RELATED: Indianapolis FedEx Shooting: Police Identify 8 Victims

Meanwhile, family members gathered at a nearby hotel to await word on loved ones, and some employees were bused there for reunions.

However, other relatives said they still had no information about their loved ones hours after the shooting. Most employees aren't allowed to carry cell phones inside the FedEx building, making contact with them difficult.

4. This is the third mass shooting to happen in Indianapolis this year.

Three of the 12 deadliest shootings so far in 2021 happened in Indianapolis, including Thursday night’s killings at the FedEx facility, according to the nonprofit Gun Violence Archive.

Five people, including a pregnant woman, were shot and killed in January. In March, a man was accused of killing three adults and a child before abducting his daughter during at argument at a home.

5. Thoughts and prayers as flags ordered to half-staff

President Joe Biden said he had been briefed on the shooting and called gun violence “an epidemic” in the United States, The AP reported.

“Too many Americans are dying every single day from gun violence. It stains our character and pierces the very soul of our nation,” he said in a statement.

Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb said on Twitter that he was “shaken” by the shooting and called it a “heartbreaking day.” He also ordered flags to be lowered to half-staff until sunset on Tuesday.

FedEx also issued a statement. "We are deeply shocked and saddened by the loss of our team members following the tragic shooting at our FedEx Ground facility in Indianapolis," the statement said. "Our most heartfelt sympathies are with all those affected by this senseless act of violence."

U.S. Rep. André Carson (D-IN), whose district includes Indianapolis, said on Twitter that he was heartbroken and praying for those affected.

“I am communicating with local authorities to get all details of the attack and my office stands ready to help everyone affected any way we can,” he wrote.

Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita also said he was deeply saddened by the shooting.

“We offer our deepest condolences and prayers for all affected, and await further details to determine what exactly happened and why,” he wrote on Twitter.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.