Authorities were warned about FedEx suspect’s potential for violence, sources say
The suspect in the Indianapolis mass shooting at a FedEx Ground facility was a former employee there and, according to law enforcement sources, known to federal and local authorities prior to the attack.
“We can confirm that the perpetrator was a former employee at the facility,” company spokesperson Jim Masilak told CNN Friday, declining to name the suspect and directing further questions to the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department.
A family member of the suspected shooter reached out to authorities warning about the suspect’s potential for violence, according to three law enforcement sources briefed on the matter.
It was not clear when the warning was given but the outreach was followed up by both local authorities and the FBI, which opened a preliminary investigation into any possible threat, the sources said.
The gunman opened fire outside and inside a FedEx Ground facility near Indianapolis’s main airport Thursday night, killing eight people, wounding several others and sending witnesses running before taking his own life, police said. It was the country’s deadliest shooting since 10 people were killed March 22 at a grocery in Colorado.
The FBI eventually closed their inquiry into the suspect after concluding there wasn’t sufficient evidence to continue it, according to the sources, who did not specify why federal investigators dropped the matter.
The suspect has not been publicly identified.
The FBI is helping Indianapolis Metro Police Department “on the search of the suspect’s home,” FBI Special Agent in Charge of the Indianapolis field office Paul Keenan said at a Friday morning news conference.
Asked whether authorities had any indication this attack would occur, police said no.
“We’re still working with FedEx security for anything that might have been an indication this was going to happen right now,” Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department Deputy Chief of Criminal Investigations Craig McCartt said at the briefing on Friday.
A spokeswoman for the police department declined to comment on CNN’s reporting.
“Well, once we positively identify who he is, we will be able to research further,” spokeswoman Genae Cook said.
