Indianapolis FedEx shooter was not racially motivated: Police
INDIANAPOLIS: The former employee who shot and killed eight people, including four Sikhs, at an Indianapolis FedEx warehouse in April acted alone and was not racially or ethnically motivated, authorities said on Wednesday.
Brandon Scott Hole, 19, used the April 15 attack as an act of “suicidal murder” and believed he would “demonstrate his masculinity and capability” while fulfilling a final desire to experience killing people, Indianapolis police and federal authorities said during a news conference.
Eight employees, including four members of the city’s Sikh community, were killed in the attack and five others were injured, police said.
Police said Hole considered other locations for the shooting but chose the FedEx building because it was familiar to him. He also believed the site would give him access to a large number of vulnerable victims.
Paul Keenan, special agent in charge of the FBI’s Indianapolis field office, declined to disclose other potential targets.
“He knew the location well,” Keenan said.
Hole had suicidal thoughts “almost daily” in the months prior to the attack and attempted suicide on “more than one occasion,” Keenan said.
Police seized a pump-action shotgun from Hole, then 18, in March 2020 after they received the call from his mother.
Members of the Indianapolis Sikh community pressed local and federal law enforcement for months for an investigation into the shooter’s motive, emphasising concern that Hole chose a place known for hiring people of colour.
Important to recognise bias: Sikh Coalition
Sikh Coalition legal director Amrith Kaur said while “it’s impossible” to know Hole’s thinking, she was disappointed police did not release additional details about how they ruled out bias as a possible motive.“It is important to recognise that bias can be a factor,” Kaur said in a statement. “Though law enforcement has said this investigation is over, for all the families and others these questions will remain forever.”