One of Indianapolis’ deadliest shootings began just after 11 p.m. on April 15 at the FedEx Ground Operation Center in Plainfield, according to the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department.
Eight people were killed, four of whom were Sikh. The victims include: Matthew R. Alexander, Samaria Blackwell, Amarjeet Johal, Jasvinder Kaur, Jaswinder Singh, Amarjit Sekhon, Karli Smith and John Weisert.
According to IMPD, the shooting took place in less than four minutes and was over by the time authorities arrived. There were at least 100 people in the facility and the Marion County Sheriff’s Office received 97 calls through its 911 Call Center about the incident.
The suspect, Brandon Scott Hole, a 19-year-old from Indianapolis, used two rifles purchased legally in July and September 2020 according to IMPD. Hole, who died by suicide at the scene, was a former FedEx employee. While IMPD obtained 191 firearms last year through Indiana’s Jake Laird Law, the state’s “red flag” law, none of Hole’s guns were seized through the law.
Marion County Prosecutor Ryan Mears said Hole had a shotgun confiscated March 3, 2020. This was in response to reports made by Hole’s mother that he was having suicidal thoughts. Hole was evaluated at a local hospital that day, and Hole’s family agreed to not reacquire the shotgun Mears said. However, Hole obtained the two rifles used in Thursday’s shooting after the incident in 2020.
Around this time, the Indianapolis Star reports IMPD had discovered Hole was looking at white supremacist websites on his computer. Indianapolis Special Agent in Charge at the FBI, Paul Keenan, said the FBI had interviewed Hole in April following the incident but did not identify anything that would suggest Racially Motivated Violent Extremism (RMVE), according to the Indianapolis Star.
In a statement released Tuesday by the Sikh Coalition, the group called on law enforcement and state and federal legislators to investigate any racial or religious bias that could have motivated Hole.
“It is essential to connect the dots of all of his activities leading up to this tragic attack to fully understand the role racism, xenophobia and white supremacy may have played in his alleged anger toward his former employer,” the statement read.
