FedEx employee breaks down over shooting

 

I am heart broken

By Teo Armus

“I am heartbroken by the mass shooting at the FedEx facility here in Indianapolis and praying for all affected by this tragedy,” Rep. André Carson (D), who represents the area in Congress, said on Twitter. “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.”

Video from the scene showed a parking lot outside the FedEx facility closed off with police tape and multiple ambulances and police cruisers standing by.

The site of the shooting, a one-story FedEx Ground facility in southwestern Indianapolis, is five miles away from a much larger company hub at the city’s airport.

Jim Masilak, a spokesman for FedEx, said in a statement that the company was “deeply shocked and saddened by the loss of our team members.”

“Our most heartfelt sympathies are with all those affected by this senseless act of violence. The safety of our team members is our top priority, and we are fully cooperating with investigating authorities,” the statement said.

Indianapolis Deputy Police Chief Craig McCartt said the shooting “probably only lasted one to two minutes.”

“The information that we have is that it was very short,” he told CNN early Friday.

According to McCartt, who oversees the agency’s criminal investigations, the gunman entered the parking lot, exited his vehicle and quickly began shooting outside. He then entered the building but was not able to make it very far.

“It wasn’t precipitated by any kind of a disturbance or an argument with anyone there,” he added. “He just immediately started shooting.”

McCartt added that police were still working to confirm the identities of the shooter and the victims.

As of early Friday, authorities were still working with FedEx to reunite employees at the warehouse with their families. That process was delayed because FedEx employees are not allowed to carry cellphones while working, he said.

3:03 a.m.

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Warehouse worker: ‘It could have been me’

By Teo Armus

Timothy Bouillat, a 29-year-old package handler at the warehouse, told The Post that he was eating dinner in an outdoor break area around 11:10 p.m. when he heard two shots clanging against metal. He initially mistook the sound for an engine backfiring.

His co-worker stood up to see what was going on and pointed out a man with a weapon coming out of the front door to the FedEx facility, Bouillat said.

As four or five more shots went off, the pair spotted another person going into a car and retrieving a gun of their own. Moments later, Bouillat said, that person was on the ground, apparently wounded by the shooter.

Bouillat, who has worked at the warehouse for a decade, said the shooting left him “dumbfounded.” The building is outfitted with metal detectors and security turnstiles at its entrance that require employees to scan their FedEx badges.

“I’m trying to process what happened and not lose composure,” he said. “It could have been me. I could have been the one on the floor, not being able to see my twin boys again.”

He and his co-worker were picked up by a third colleague at the facility, who drove them out of the parking lot. On their way out, they warned co-workers heading into the overnight shift not to approach the area.

2:45 a.m.

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Police: Eight victims pronounced dead at the scene

By Teo Armus

Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Officer Genae Cook said at a news conference that officers responded just after 11 p.m. to reports of shots fired. As police arrived at the warehouse on Mirabel Road, they came in contact with an active shooter, she said.

Cook said that several people were found at the scene with gunshot wounds; eight were pronounced dead at the scene.

“It is very heartbreaking,” she said early Friday, as dozens of family members of FedEx workers began congregating in a staging area at a nearby hotel. “This is a sight that no one should have to see.”

Police said early Friday that “five victims with injuries consistent with gunshot wounds were transported to local hospitals for treatment” and that two victims were treated at the scene and released.

1:58 a.m.

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FedEx: ‘We are deeply shocked and saddened’

By Teo Armus

An employee who was at a FedEx facility in Indianapolis late Thursday when a gunman fatally shot at least eight people before killing himself says that the attacker was a man carrying what he believed to be an automatic rifle.

“I saw a man, a hooded figure … the man did have an AR in his hand,” said Levi Miller on NBC’s “Today” show, “and he started shouting and then he started firing.”

Miller said he was eating some food with his friends when he heard two gunshots from inside the building. He said he thought at first they were sounds from a car instead of gunshots. Then, he heard three shots, which he thought was an engine problem.

But then he heard six rapid shots, followed by another 10 shots. Miller told “Today” he stood up and saw the man firing “at random directions.”

Miller said the man was yelling things but that he could not make out what he was saying. He said the man worked at the facility, although he did not know him.

Father of FedEx employee breaks down over shooting: ‘There’s no need for this’

By Timothy Bella

The father of an employee at the FedEx facility in Indianapolis who survived Thursday’s mass shooting broke down in tears outside, crying over the latest gun attack in America.

The man, who identified himself to Fox 59 journalist Darius Johnson only as the father of employee Trent Mitchell, said that while he found out his son was in another building, he was in pain for all those lost.

“I just want everybody to love each other, that’s it,” he said. “There’s no need for this.”

He added, “I want people to love each other.”

The gunman who killed eight people late Thursday before killing himself has yet to be identified hours after the mass shooting, Indianapolis police said.

Craig McCartt, deputy chief of the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department, said authorities “know very little at this point in time,” as police are still processing the crime scene.

“We don’t have a lot of information on him yet as he has not been positively identified,” McCartt told NBC.

He said to “Gunman kills 8 at FedEx facility before apparently shooting himself, Indianapolis police say

McCartt said police believe the gunman used a rifle.

Indiana Sens. Braun and Young offer condolences as ‘senseless tragedy’ rocks home state

By Timothy Bella

Indiana Sens. Mike Braun (R) and Todd C. Young (R) extended condolences Friday to the families of the eight people killed at a FedEx facility in Indianapolis.

Braun said that he and his wife learned of the tragedy when they woke up Friday morning.

“Our hearts are mourning for the individuals who’ve senselessly lost their lives, all of their loved ones, and their co-workers at FedEx who will be dealing with this tragedy for a long time to come,” Braun tweeted.

Anxious aunt of FedEx employee: ‘We don’t know if my nephew is okay’

By Timothy Bella

The aunt of a FedEx employee said early Friday that she has not yet heard from her nephew.

Charise Grice, whose nephew Raymond Grice works at the FedEx facility where eight people were killed in a mass shooting, said to Fox 59 that hospitals could not tell her if her family member was there after the attack. She said she’s been unable to reach him so far, as employees lock up their phones at work.

During that time, Grice said she’s been calling and texting his phone with no response.

“We’re just waiting,” she said to the outlet. “We don’t know if my nephew is okay or not.”

Five people were taken to hospitals for injuries suffered in the shooting. Police said early Friday that all five appeared to be in stable condition.

No victims have been publicly identified so far.

The FBI is assisting Indiana authorities with the investigation into the FedEx shooting, offering them resources and looking for any federal nexus, a spokeswoman for the bureau said Friday morning.

The Indianapolis police said its homicide detectives are investigating the shooting alongside detectives with the Indiana State Police. A forensic agency serving Indianapolis and Marion County also headed to the scene to help collect evidence.

FBI assisting local, state police with investigation into shooting

Congressional Democrats pressure Senate on gun legislation

By John Wagner

Congressional Democrats on Friday morning seized on the Indianapolis shooting, seeking to put additional pressure on the Senate to pass legislation already approved by the House to tighten background checks on firearms purchases.

“We sent the Senate a bipartisan bill that will finally begin to address the epidemic that is gun violence,” Rep. Chrissy Houlahan (D-Pa.) tweeted. “Their silence and negligence on this issue is deadly on a daily basis. They owe it to the people of this country to act and act now.”

The Senate is now controlled by Democrats, but 60 votes are needed to advance most legislation in the evenly divided chamber under filibuster rules.

Rep. Adriano Espaillat (D-N.Y.) was among those who argued Friday that the inability to pass meaningful gun control underscores why the Senate should abolish the filibuster.

“The Senate needs to act and pass gun reform — NOW," he tweeted. “And if the filibuster stands in the way? Abolish it. Thoughts and prayers just aren’t enough anymore.”

Rep. Ted Deutch (D-Fla.), who represents the district in which a gunman killed 17 people at a Parkland high school in 2018, also weighed in.

“People gunned down on the porch and in the park,” he tweeted. “Killed watching a movie and killed enjoying a concert. Killed buying groceries. This gun violence epidemic won’t end with a vaccine. It will take politicians with guts.”

During an appearance on CNN, Sen. Mark R. Warner (D-Va.) pitched gun-safety legislation recently introduced with Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) that was modeled after state laws passed in Virginia.

While the Virginia laws did not satisfy everyone, they included strengthened background checks and addressed mental health issues, Warner said. “Until and unless we act [nationally], these tragedies are going to continue,” he said.

City council member calls on governor to address gun legislation

By Timothy Bella

Following Thursday’s mass shooting, Indianapolis City-County council member Ali Brown urged Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb (R) and other state leaders to address gun-violence legislation.

“It would be absolutely coldhearted of House Speaker Todd Huston, Senate President Rodric Bray, and Gov. Eric Holcomb if they failed to address gun violence as the state is currently in session and able to find a solution to this problem,” Brown said in a statement. “The conversation will be tough, but we must get a firm grip of the situation and the collective epidemic — and if that means passing background check legislation, banning automatic rifles, and advocating for other common-sense gun control measures, let’s get that done immediately.”

Governor orders flags to fly at half-staff

By Timothy Bella

Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb (R) said Friday that he is ordering flags to be lowered until sunset on Tuesday, “in remembrance of those we’ve lost.”

Two prominent members of the Biden administration from Indiana — White House chief of staff Ron Klain and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg — weighed in on the carnage in Indianapolis, both expressing exasperation that mass shootings continue at such a pace.

“It’s only April, and it’s not the first mass shooting in my hometown THIS YEAR,” Klain, a native of Indianapolis tweeted.

Six people, including a pregnant woman and her fetus, were killed in late January in what Indianapolis authorities said at the time was the largest mass casualty shooting in the city in more than a decade.

“We wake up once more to news of a mass shooting, this time in Indiana,” tweeted Buttigieg, who previously served as mayor of South Bend, Ind. “No country should accept this now-routine horror. It’s long past time to act.”

Buttigieg: ‘No country should accept this now-routine horror’

A gunman killed eight people and then apparently turned his weapon on himself at a FedEx facility in Indianapolis on Thursday, in a mass shooting that left several others injured, authorities said.

Here’s what to know

• The authorities were still working to confirm the identities of the shooter and the victims.
• As investigators search for a motive, police said the shooting “wasn’t precipitated by any kind of a disturbance or an argument.”
• Police responded just after 11 p.m. to reports of shots fired. Upon arriving at the facility, officers came in contact with an active shooter; the gunman then apparently killed himself.
• Eight victims were pronounced dead at the scene. Five people were taken to hospitals and two others were treated at the scene.

• Gunman kills 8 at FedEx facility before apparently shooting himself, Indianapolis police say

• It was the fifth public mass shooting in the United States in as many weeks, following massacres at three spas in metro Atlanta; a supermarket in Boulder, Colo.; a Southern California office building; and a private residence in South Carolina.
• Despite the pandemic, 2020 was the deadliest year for U.S. gun violence in at least two decades.