Law enforcement officials still have not identified the man who killed eight people at a FedEx facility in Indiana late Thursday before shooting himself.
“I can really tell you very little and the reason is, we are still working to identify everybody that is still on scene there. So we are not able to make positive identification of the suspect,” Craig McCartt, deputy police chief with the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department, told reporters in a morning briefing.
Authorities refused to say whether the gunman had a connection to the facility, which is near the Indianapolis airport.
“That’s difficult to determine until we make positive identification. So we’re certainly working with the FedEx organization in trying to establish all those connections, but we just can’t do that yet,” McCartt said.
The crime scene is still being processed, preventing coroner workers from entering and making identifications of the suspect and victims.
Officers rushed to the area just before midnight on Thursday and found people shot both inside and outside the building. Eight people have died, and others are being treated in hospitals.
The suspect drove to the facility and exited his car before almost immediately opening fire. Authorities say there was no confrontation that preceded the shootings.
“There was no confrontation with anyone that was there. There was no disturbance. There was no argument. He just appeared to randomly start shooting,” McCartt said.
The gunman then entered the facility briefly before he took his own life, just minutes after the spree started.
The suicide took place before officers entered the building.
The weapon was described as a rifle.
“I’ve been with the coroner’s office for 23 years. I’ve not seen this capacity in terms of the numbers of mass fatality shootings in a short period of time. It is very disturbing for our entire community,” Alfarena McGinty, the chief deputy coroner at the Marion County Coroner’s Office, told reporters.
“The staff is definitely suffering and is going to need long-term counseling with regard to these types of deaths.”
In a letter to employees, FedEx Chairman and CEO Frederick Smith said that all eight victims were workers at the company.
“First and foremost, I want to express my deepest sympathies to the families, friends, and co-workers of those team members. Our priority right now is in responding to the situation on the ground and helping our team members and law enforcement. We have a team onsite in Indianapolis to provide support, and we are making counselors available,” he wrote.
“This is a devastating day, and words are hard to describe the emotions we all feel. Please keep the Indianapolis team and surrounding community in your thoughts and prayers as we continue to support and care for each other in the difficult days ahead.”
