Getty Scene of the FedEx shooting
The FedEx shooting suspect has been described on police scanner audio and by witnesses as a “white male” wearing a hoodie, hood or hat and carrying a rifle. You can listen to the earliest dispatch audio later in this article. It chronicles the police response to the scene as they keep running across more victims.
The suspect was named by NBC News as Brandon Scott Hole, 19, of Indianapolis. Authorities have not formally released Hole’s name.
Eight people were shot to death by the gunman, who still hasn’t been named. It’s not clear whether he is an employee or what motivated him to go to the FedEx facility in Indianapolis late on April 15, 2021, and open fire, shooting people both inside and in the parking lot.
“We don’t have a lot of information on the suspect yet. He has not been positively identified,” Craig McCartt, deputy chief of the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police, told the TODAY Show. Authorities described him as a “young male, in his 20s.” They said in a news conference that they were searching a home they believe is tied to the suspect, whom they still are trying to positively ID.
CNN’s Ana Cabrera reported that the suspect was on authorities’ radar before the mass shooting.
“Authorities were warned about FedEx suspect’s potential for violence in the past, sources say,” she wrote on Twitter. “The suspect in the Indianapolis mass shooting was known to federal and local authorities prior to the attack.”
Cabrera added, “A family member of the suspected shooter reached out to authorities warning about the suspect’s potential for violence, according to three law enforcement sources briefed on the matter.”
At one point in the initial police dispatch audio, dispatchers said the suspect was described as a “white male wearing a hat” or hoodie and carrying a rifle type weapon. Police later said the suspect had a .223 rifle, according to scanner audio. It’s believed there is only one gunman.
“And when I stand up, I see a man — a hooded figure — I was unable to see his face in detail however,” witness Levi Miller told the TODAY Show.
He said the man had a rifle “and he started shouting, and he started firing in random directions. I thought he saw me and so I immediately ducked for cover,” Miller said, adding that he couldn’t make out the suspect’s words.
Here’s what you need to know:
The Dispatch Audio Captures Police Finding the Suspect Dead Inside the Building
You can listen to some of the earliest police dispatch audio here courtesy of Broadcastify.com.
In addition to the eight people who were murdered, several others are injured, including at least four people who were also shot. The FedEx building is a ground facility near the airport.
The suspect was located dead inside the building of a gunshot wound early on, according to the scanner audio.
“We have an active shooter currently at FedEx,” said a dispatcher. A
“We have the suspect here inside it looks like. Looks like he has a gunshot wound to the head. Two rifles here,” an officer said in the audio. “Unless there’s another person out, this is going to be our suspect here.” Authorities said at one point, “We have four more down inside the building.” They also found two people in the parking lot and one person in the office.
Cook said the shooting broke out just after 11 p.m. at the 8951 Mirabel Road facility in the southwest part of the city. She said officers, “responded on the report of shots being fired at that business. As officers arrived they came into contact with an active shooter incident.” Police said they believe the shooter took his own life. Scanner reports indicated the suspect was found dead of a gunshot wound to the head.
Officer Genae Cook, the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department spokesperson, told reporters at the press conference early Friday morning, April 17, “After a preliminary search of the grounds inside and out, we have located eight people at the scene with injuries consistent to gunshot wounds. Those eight were pronounced deceased here at the scene. We have been made aware of multiple other people with injuries who have been transported to local hospitals or who have transported themselves to local hospitals.” One victim is in critical condition. The victims’ names have not been released.
Cook added, “IMPD detectives are working with Indiana State Police detectives gathering information and interviewing, not just those who are here at the scene, but also those who have gone to area hospitals seeking medical treatment. … It is very heartbreaking. … The officers responded, they came in, they went in and they did their job. And a lot of them are trying to face this because this is a sight that no one should ever have to see.”
A Witness Said the Shooter Pulled a Gun Out of His Trunk
Indianapolis FedEx facility shooting witness interview.
When asked if the shooter was an employee at the FedEx facility, Cook said that was not yet known. According to a job listing for a package handler at the facility, the shooting happened just before the shift change between the twilight sort, which starts at 5:30 p.m., and the midnight sort, which begins at 11:30 p.m.
A witness told Indy First Alert, “One guy showed up and pulled a gun out of his trunk and went inside. People were driving away, but then he started shooting at the cars driving away.” He said the shooting started in the parking lot, and then continued in the building.
FedEx said in a statement after the mass shooting, “We are aware of the tragic shooting at our FedEx Ground facility near the Indianapolis airport. Safety is our top priority and our thoughts are with all those who are affected. We are working to gather more information and are cooperating with investigating authorities.” According to job listings on the FedEx website, the facility includes a warehouse. There is also a self-service drop box at the location, according to the FedEx website.
The dispatcher said at one point that someone “had been shot,” according to the audio obtained by Heavy via Broadcastify.com. Then they said two to three were shot. Another dispatcher said a female was “screaming for help.” An officer said “another one is down by the building.” They said the hospitals should prepare for “multiple victims.” One person was described as “conscious, barely.”
“Do we have any living victims needing an ambulance?” an officer asked at one point.
“Person shot. He is outside in the parking lot,” another dispatcher said of another victim. “EMS is en route.”
“This made me stand up and actually look out the entrance door, and I saw a man with a submachine gun of some sort, an automatic rifle, and he was firing in the open,” Jeremiah Miller told WISH. “I immediately ducked down and got scared and my friend’s mother, she came in and told us to get inside the car.”