INDIANPOLIS — At least eight people were killed in a shooting late Thursday at a FedEx facility near Indianapolis International Airport, authorities said.
Police responded to the FedEx Ground facility on the city's southwest side just after 11 p.m. Thursday for a report of shots fired at a business. There was an "active shooter" situation when officers arrived, said Genae Cook, spokesman for the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department.
Eight people were killed in and around the facility, she said. An unknown number of others went to hospitals with injuries. The suspected shooter is also dead. Cook said police believe the shooter took his own life.
"This is a tragedy," Cook said through tears early Friday during a news conference.
Here's what we know Friday:
Who are the victims?
Eight people are dead and multiple people were injured and were hospitalized. At least one person remained in critical condition at 3 a.m. Friday. Other injured people took themselves to hospitals in the area, Cook said.
No law enforcement officers were among the wounded, Cook said.
Police established a family unification center at the Holiday Inn a mile from the warehouse, for those that had not heard from loved ones. The New York Times reported FedEx has a policy that employees must give up their phones before beginning work on the floor.
Several hours after the shooting, family members sat in the hotel lobby waiting to hear if their loved ones who worked at the ground facility were OK. Some had pajamas on. One man had a sleeping child covered in a blanket on his shoulder. They wore masks to protect themselves from COVID-19.
The scene inside the Holiday Inn’s ballroom was nothing short of “chaos,” other family members said. “I’m just worried about my father," Ashlee Floyd said. Her father has worked at the FedEx facility near the airport for two decades. He usually calls his wife at 11:25 p.m., but didn't call on Thursday, she said. "I don’t know if he’s OK. I don’t know if he’s injured. I don’t know if he’s gone. I’m just scared right now.”
'I don't know if he's OK': Families wait to hear of loved ones who work at FedEx facility
Who is the suspect?
Authorities have not identified the gunman, who was found dead in what is believed to be a suicide nearby. It is unknown if the shooter was a FedEx employee or what his motive was.
A witness who said he works at the facility told WISH-TV that he saw a man with a gun after hearing several gunshots.
“I saw a man with a submachine gun of some sort, an automatic rifle, and he was firing in the open,” Jeremiah Miller said.
What FedEx is saying
The FedEx Indianapolis hub, which employs more than 4,500 team members, is the second-largest hub in the company's global network, a representative told the IndyStar, part of the USA TODAY Network, in March.
FedEx issued a statement after the incident on Twitter, saying it is cooperating with authorities and working to get more information.
“We are deeply shocked and saddened by the loss of our team members following the tragic shooting at our FedEx Ground facility in Indianapolis," FedEx wrote in another statement released shortly after 4 a.m. "Our most heartfelt sympathies are with all those affected by this senseless act of violence. The safety of our team members is our top priority, and we are fully cooperating with investigating authorities.”
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Contributing: Alexandria Burris and Sarah Nelson, Indy Star; Elinor Aspergren, USA TODAY
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