In March 2020, gunman Brandon Hole’s mother contacted police over concerns about his behavior after purchasing a gun, according to recently released data from the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department (IMPD). She told police he had told her “that he would aim a recently bought shotgun at police officers so they would shoot him.” And when police went to their home, they saw that he had visited white supremacist websites, the report said.
In an attack that lasted just minutes, Hole opened fire on the facility near Indianapolis’ main airport before taking his own life on Thursday night. Of the eight people killed in the violence, four were members of the area’s Sikh community, Maninder Singh Walia, a member of the Indianapolis Sikh community, told CNN on Friday.
The case has also raised concerns about access to weapons, as Hole seized his gun during the incident in 2020.
After his mother told agents on March 3 that she feared for her safety after her son bought a gun a day earlier, the IMPD arrested Hole, seized the gun, temporarily placed him on hold for mental health, and then took him to a local hospital. for evaluation, the police report said.
While being handcuffed, Hole became anxious and said, “Just turn off the power strip on my computer” and “I don’t want anyone to see what’s on it,” the report said. One officer, described as clearing the upstairs and securing the rifle, “noted what were white supremacist websites because of his training and experience,” the report said.
Limitations of Red Flag Laws
Despite the temporary mental health suspension in March, Hole was able to legally purchase assault rifles in July and September 2020, Indianapolis police said.
The case “illustrates the limitations” of state law, The Marion County, Indiana, said prosecutor Ryan Mears Monday.
Because the rifle removed from Hole’s home was secured and the family did not want it back, prosecutors felt they “ achieved the purpose of the law, ” Mears said. If the state had filed a petition, the court might have found that prosecutors had no legal authority to keep the weapon.
“In this particular case, the petition was not filed because in this particular case the family had agreed to forfeit the firearm in question and they had no intention of pursuing the return of that firearm,” Mears said.
Mears said the state had no access to “anything to indicate that (Hole) had a history or documented diagnosis of mental illness.”
“We have 14 days under statute and because we have 14 days, our ability to access meaningful medical history, meaningful mental health records, is severely limited.” Indiana law allows a person to respond to a subpoena for 30 days, Mears said.
“The sad reality is that as long as these cases are pending, there’s nothing forbidding anyone to buy a firearm, that’s just the sad truth,” Mears said.
8 dead and 4 people are still hospitalized
On Friday night, Indianapolis police released the names of the eight deceased victims. They were Matthew R. Alexander, 32; Samaria Blackwell, 19; Amarjeet Johal, 66; Jasvinder Kaur, 50; Jaswinder Singh, 68; Amarjit Sekhon, 48; Karli Smith, 19; and John Weisert, 74.
Four people remained in hospital on Monday with injuries sustained in the attack, FedEx said.
That sentiment was echoed in a letter to the Biden government on Saturday, in which the Sikh Coalition wrote: “It was no coincidence that the shooter had attacked this particular FedEx facility where he had worked and knew it was for the most part. was manned by Sikhs. “
Two of the victims, Sekhon and Kaur, were relatively new to Indianapolis and were working night shifts at the FedEx facility when they were murdered, said Rimpi Girn, an Indianapolis resident who knew them.
Sekhon, who immigrated to the US in 2004, moved to Indiana from Ohio in 2019 to be closer to family and relatives, said Girn, a close family friend. Sekhon leaves behind a husband and two sons, ages 13 and 19, Girn said.
Kaur, who immigrated to the US in 2018, was her family’s breadwinner, according to Girn. Sekhon drove Kaur to work because Kaur didn’t have a driver’s license, Girn said.
The fund said 100% of the donations “go to the families and those affected by the tragedy.”
CNN’s Kristina Sgueglia, Meridith Edwards, Harmeet Kaur, Eric Levenson, Steve Almasy, Dakin Andone, Jason Carroll, Meredith Edwards, Jason Hanna, Kay Jones, LaCrisha McAllister, Evan Perez, Shimon Prokupecz, Hollie Silverman, Artemis Moshtaghian and Amanda Watts contributed to this report.