8 killed in mass shooting at FedEx facility in Indianapolis
(INDIANAPOLIS, IN) Exclusive: At least eight people were shot to death at a FedEx warehouse facility in Indianapolis overnight Thursday and several others were wounded by a gunman who later killed himself, according to authorities. At least five of those shot were rushed to various hospitals throughout the area, and one of them was in critical condition, said Indianapolis police spokesperson Genae Cook, who held a news conference Friday morning before daylight.
At least one witness at the scene reported seeing a man firing a submachine gun or an automatic rifle. The number of casualties was unconfirmed and could be higher, reports said. As of 10:45 a.m. investigators were still processing the scene nearly 12 hours after police first received reports of shots fired.
Police said the shooting lasted one to two minutes because the suspect “didn’t get very far” into the facility, according to reporter Steve Lookner. The shooting was not precipitated by an argument or disturbance, and police said the suspect immediately opened fire after exiting his vehicle at the facility. Law enforcement sources said there is no indication of terrorism being linked to the shooting. Investigators are trying to determine whether this was an act of workplace violence, according to reporter Josh Margolin. Investigators were examining surveillance footage to ascertain how the shooting unfolded.
The names of the dead have yet to be revealed. “This is a sight that no one should see,” Cook told reporters. The wounded were expected to survive, officials said at the morning press conference. Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett released a statement after the shooting. “As law enforcement works to learn more about this tragedy, our prayers are with the families of those whose lives were cut short,” Hogsett said. FedEx issued a statement in which it expressed shock and sadness for the loss of team members.
So far, authorities have not identified the gunman nor his motive. The total number of dead did not include him. Cook said it was too early to tell whether the shooter was an employee at the facility. “We’re still trying to ascertain the exact reason and cause for this incident,” Cook said. During a news conference later in the morning, police did not name of the suspect because of the ongoing investigation. The scene was still being scoured by dozens of detectives shortly before 11 a.m. The FBI was assisting local police with the investigation, according to reporter Angela Brauer.
Police officers arrived at the facility shortly after 11 p.m. Thursday just as the gunfire had ended, Cook said. Inside they found “multiple people with injuries consistent with gunshot wounds,” Cook said. Police had the building under their control by 2:45 a.m. ,and the public was not believed to be in danger. More than 100 worried family members gathered at a nearby Holiday Inn Express for the latest word on their loved ones, reports said.
FedEx employees are not allowed to use cellphones on the floor of the facilities, likely meaning no one was in contact with those inside, according to reports. The warehouse where the shooting happened is on the southwest side of Indianapolis, near the airport, where law enforcement had blocked highway access as the investigation got underway. A witness who spoke to local news station WRTV said he heard as many as 10 shots after managing to escape the scene at the end of his shift. “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 WRTV. “I immediately ducked down and got scared and my friend’s mother, she came in and told us to get inside the car.”
The FedEx shooting is also the latest in an overall deadly wave of bloodshed across the country this year. A shooting spree at several metro Atlanta spas on March 16 left eight dead, including six Asian women.
