Monday, April 19, 2021 | 8:57 a.m.
INDIANAPOLIS — A former FedEx employee who fatally shot eight people at a FedEx facility in Indianapolis never appeared before a judge for a hearing under Indiana's “red flag” law after his mother called police last year to say her son might commit “suicide by cop," a prosecutor said Monday.
Marion County Prosecutor Ryan Mears said authorities believed they had done what they needed to by seizing the pump-action shotgun from Brandon Scott Hole in March 2020.
“Absolutely there needs to be some intervention and absolutely the firearm needs to be taken away. ... But the risk is if we move forward with that (red flag) process and lose, we have to give that firearm back to that person," Mears said. "That’s not something we were willing to do.”
Mears added, “I think this case illustrates the limitations” of the law.
Indianapolis police said Saturday that Hole, 19, legally bought what they described as assault rifles he used in Thursday's attack. The police did not reveal where he bought them, citing the ongoing investigation.
