I am heart broken
“I am heartbroken by the mass shooting at the FedEx facility here in Indianapolis and praying for all affected by this tragedy,” Rep. AndrĂ© 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.
Warehouse worker: ‘It could have been me’
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.
Police: Eight victims pronounced dead at the scene
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.
