A judge released FedEx from a lawsuit filed by five families of those killed in a mass shooting at the Indianapolis facility in 2021.
On April 15, 2021, Brandon Scott Hole killed eight people and injured five others, after opening fire in the parking lot.
Related: [8 killed in mass shooting at Indianapolis FedEx facility]
The victims’ family members accused FedEx of not creating a safe work environment and failing to have strong security measures, according to Melvin Hewitt, an attorney representing the employees' families.
U.S. District Judge James Sweeney dismissed all four divisions of the company from the wrongful death suits, explaining the court does not have jurisdiction over the case as it falls under the Indiana Worker’s Compensation Act.
“The families allege in the lawsuit their relatives were killed in the FedEx parking lot on April 15, 2021, while either just arriving or leaving the facility during a shift change,” Sweeney said in a statement. “Therefore, their injuries are tied to work.”
FedEx was dismissed from the federal lawsuit without prejudice, which allows the families to refile their legal claims with the Indiana Worker’s Compensation Board.
The dismissal does not dismiss the part of the lawsuit against security company Securitas Security Services, USA.
The FedEx shooting was the deadliest mass shooting in Indianapolis in 15 years, claiming the lives of 32-year-old Matthew R. Alexander, 19-year-old Samaria Blackwell, 66-year-old Amarjeet Johal, 50-year-old Jasvinder Kaur, 68-year-old Jaswinder Singh, 48-year-old Amarjit Sekhon, 19-year-old Karli Smith and 74-year-old John Weisert.
Related: [What we know about the Indianapolis shooting]
“It sucks that we have to go through this when this whole incident was 100% preventable," Gary Johal, son of Amarjeet Johal, said in an interview with WTHR. “Losing her is one of the biggest devastations in our life. Multiple parties will need to be held accountable."
