Brandon Hole, the 19-year-old former employee identified by authorities as the gunman who shot and killed eight people at a FedEx facility in Indianapolis before taking his own life on Thursday, was never given a hearing before a court of law despite local police seizing his firearm last year in a manner consistent with the execution of a “red flag” law, a prosecutor said on Monday.
Law enforcement seized a shotgun belonging to the teenager in March 2020 after his mother reportedly raised concerns that he was mentally unstable and might “commit suicide by cop.” The gun seizure is in line with red flag law proceedings, which allow authorities to take guns from those deemed a threat to themselves or others, prior to a scheduled hearing in front of a judge.
However, Hole’s shotgun was never returned to him, and he was not afforded a day in court, Marion County Prosecutor Ryan Mears said.
“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, according to the Associated Press. “That’s not something we were willing to do.”
FEDEX GUNMAN WAS ABLE TO BUY TWO RIFLES DESPITE FBI INVESTIGATION AND PRIOR WEAPONS SEIZURE
On Saturday, the Indianapolis Police Department said Hole used two “assault rifles” in the attack, both of which were purchased legally in July and September, citing a trace from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. The FBI also indicated that it interviewed Hole last year but found no evidence of a crime.
Police Chief Randal Taylor was unsure if Hole went through the red flag process when the former was pressed by reporters last week.
“I don’t know how we held on to it,” Taylor said of the gun. “But it’s good that we did.”
Gun control advocates have insisted Hole’s rampage was a failure in United States gun laws, but firearm groups, such as the Gun Owners of America, said it is evidence that “multiple levels of gun control failed” to stop him.
“Attempts to prevent crime before it happens does not work. As in the tragic case in Indiana, multiple levels of gun control failed to stop this attack,” GOA Senior Vice President Erich Pratt told the Washington Examiner. “This individual’s gun was actually taken previously by authorities, and Indiana’s so-called red flag law failed to stop the killer. On top of that, FedEx’s gun-free policy ensured the victims were defenseless. We don’t need more ineffective laws to seize more guns, and we don’t need to expand red flag laws every time they fail.”
“Indiana and FedEx should repeal their anti-gun laws and policies that disarmed gun owners present at the scene of the attack,” he continued. “Armed citizen intervention is a documented and proven tool for saving lives and empowering victims of mass public shootings.”
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On Thursday, Hole arrived at the parking lot of the FedEx facility and opened fire at random during a shift change, according to police. He eventually made his way into the building itself but took his own life before law enforcement could confront him.
The teenager, who was a former employee at the facility, killed 32-year-old Matthew Alexander, 19-year-old Samaria Blackwell, 66-year-old Amarjeet Johal, 64-year-old Jaswinder Kaur, 68-year-old Jaswinder Singh, 48-year-old Amarjit Sekhon, 19-year-old Karlie Smith, and 74-year-old John Weisert.
