The family of the suspect in this week’s shooting at a FedEx facility in Indianapolis, which killed eight people, said Saturday that it tried to give him “the help he needed,” after it emerged that he had been incarcerated in the past. in a psychiatric detention center.
In a brief statement, relatives of Brandon Hole, 19, who died of a self-inflicted gunshot after the attack, expressed their “most sincere and heartfelt apologies” to the victims, their families and Indianapolis residents for “this senseless tragedy”.
“We are devastated by the loss of life caused by Brandon’s actions; through the love of his family, we tried to give him the help he needed,” they explained in the note.
According to police, Hole, a former FedEx employee, indiscriminately opened fire Thursday night at a postal service company’s warehouse, killing eight people and injuring five before taking his own life.
It happened at a FedEx center near the airport; the suspect took his own life, according to police.
On Friday, authorities finished identifying the fatalities, four of whom were members of the Sikh community, a creed originating in the state of Punjab, India. Although, earlier in the day, the FBI said it is premature “to speculate about the motive” while the investigation continues.
The deceased were identified on Friday as Matthew R. Alexander (32 years old), Samaria Blackwell (19), Amarjeet Johal (66), Jasvinder Kaur (64), Jaswinder Singh (68), Amarjit Sekhon (48), Karlie Smith (19 ) and John Weisert (74).
This Saturday several vigils were held in tribute to the victims of the massacre in different parts of Indianapolis, such as in West Side Park and in front of City Hall.
An FBI statement, quoted by CNN on Friday, revealed that Hole was in the past temporarily held in a psychiatric detention center and that a firearm was seized from him at the time.
According to a 911 call, officers found the suspect dead with a gunshot wound to the head. It is believed that he had taken his own life.
His mother told the FBI in March 2020 that her son might attempt suicide or behave in a threatening manner in order to have security forces shoot him down.
Hole was questioned a month later by the FBI, which did not see any “racially motivated violent extremism” in him or found him to have committed any crime, although the seized weapon was not returned to him.