8 killed, several injured in shooting at Indianapolis FedEx warehouse

File photo: Gephardt Daily

INDIANAPOLIS, April 16 (UPI) — Police in Indianapolis said a gunman opened fire at a FedEx warehouse near the city’s international airport late Thursday, killing at least eight people and injuring several others before taking his own life.

Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department spokesperson Genae Cook told reporters during a press briefing early Friday that eight people with gunshot wounds were pronounced dead at the scene, not including the suspected gunman.

“Multiple other people” were injured, she said, but the exact number of casualties was not yet known.

At least seven injured people were transferred to local hospitals. Four were suffering from gunshot wounds, one of whom was in critical condition, Cook said, adding that two other people were treated at the scene and were released.

“We’ve had multiple other walk-ins to different local hospitals around this area,” she said.

No officers were injured during the incident.

“This is a tragedy,” Cook said.

In a statement emailed to UPI, FedEx said it was “deeply shocked and saddened” by the deaths of its employees.

“Our most heartfelt sympathies are with all those affected by this senseless act of violence,” the company said. “The safety of our team members is our top priority, and we are fully cooperating with investigating authorities.”

Cook told reporters that officers arrived to an “active shooter incident” at the FedEx Ground Plainfield Operations Center shortly after 11 p.m. while responding to reports of shots fired.

Sgt. John Perrine of the Indiana State Police tweeted that the I-70 highway had been briefly closed due to police activity in the area.

Cook said detectives were continuing to interview witnesses and that the cause of the shooting remains unknown.

“Emotions are very high here,” she said. “There are a lot of people, not just officers but family members, who are still arriving and still learning about this incident. This occurred after many went to bed and many are still waking up to this. We ask for your continued support for everyone here involved.”

It is unknown if the suspect was a FedEx employee.

Family of FedEx employees at the warehouse who are attempting to reach the scene are being directed to a nearby Holiday Inn.

Rep. Andre Carson said he was “heartbroken” by the shooting and was praying for all those impacted.

“I am communicating with local authorities to get all details of the attack and my office stands ready to help everyone affected any way we can,” he tweeted.

The mass shooting follows several others in the country over the past several weeks, including a shooting spree in late March in Atlanta that resulted in eight people dead and a shooting days later in Boulder where 10 people were killed.

At the end of March, four people were killed, including a 9-year-old child, during a shooting at a business complex in Southern California.

On Thursday, police shot and killed a suspected gunman who injured at least two people when he opened fire at the San Antonio International Airport.

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