The FBI has released additional records from its investigation of the man who killed eight people and wounded five others in a mass shooting at an Indianapolis FedEx facility in 2021.
The records confirm previous IndyStar reporting about how the killer, Brandon Scott Hole, obtained one of the weapons he used in the attack. They also show he spent time at an Indianapolis shooting range, which has not been previously reported.
Together, the records are a stark reminder of how easily the 19-year-old former FedEx employee obtained firearms and accessories even after Indianapolis police confiscated a shotgun from him under Indiana’s red flag law in response to his mother’s report that he had threatened suicide by cop.
The records show that just four months after police seized the shotgun in March 2020, Hole purchased an HM Defense M5L Defender .223 semi-automatic rifle for more than $1,200 at Indy Arms Company, a gun store and shooting range on East 55th Street near Keystone Avenue. At the time, Hole was 18.
Hole returned to the store six days later on July 13, 2020, according to an invoice. He purchased 60 rounds of ammunition and booked about 15 minutes at the store’s indoor shooting range with an unidentified guest. He also bought a sight and a rifle carrying case.
A manager at Indy Arms told IndyStar the store followed all applicable laws, but declined to comment further.
Another invoice shows Hole purchased a rifle cleaning kit through Amazon on April 3, 2021. That was just 12 days before he carried out the deadliest mass shooting in Indianapolis history.
The purchase of the rifle was possible because IMPD and the Marion County prosecutors never filed a red flag petition with the court after seizing the shotgun. As a result, there was never a hearing to determine if Hole was a danger to himself or others, and his name was not added to a federal database of people who are prohibited from buying firearms.
The newly released records are heavily redacted and include 35 pages. They represent the fifth and final batch that the FBI plans to release, according to Sept. 29 letter from bureau. In all, the FBI has released more than 180 pages, while withholding hundreds because of public records exemptions for medical privacy, confidential law enforcement techniques and other reasons.
IndyStar requested the records more than four years ago.
What the other records showed
Other records the FBI released earlier this year confirmed much of IndyStar’s reporting in 2021, which identified multiple warning signs and failed interventions in the months leading up to the FedEx massacre, including more than a dozen mental health care and law enforcement encounters.
The reporting was part of a series, “Red Flagged,” that identified numerous instances where police and prosecutors had failed to understand and enforce Indiana’s red flag law. The project was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize.
The previously released FBI records show Hole was on the FBI’s radar more than a year before carrying out the deadliest mass shooting in Indianapolis history.
As early as March 4, 2020, the FBI opened an assessment of Hole for possible adherence to racially motivated violent extremism. The assessment began after IMPD seized the shotgun from Hole’s residence and observed on a computer in his bedroom “websites related to Nazi and Neo-Nazi killings along with a popular Neo-Nazi 4-chan forum that uses the moniker ‘My Little Pony’.”
The online forum for adult fans of the animated children’s series ”My Little Pony” includes members, also known as “Bronies,” who genuinely enjoy the show with its bright colors and positive messages. But the forum has also been a home for sexual, violent and racist fan art.
Agents interviewed Hole on April 21, 2020, at his mother’s home, but he denied having extremist views. The FBI closed the assessment two days later.
After the FedEx shooting, FBI agents observed blankets, posters, tapestries and painted murals of “My Little Pony” characters on all four walls of Hole’s bedroom. They also found in his closet a mannequin in a dress dangling from a hanger and a box with a picture of a sex doll on it, but no signs of extremist ideology.
Records show agents traced the other weapon Hole used in the shooting — a Rugar AR-556 rifle — to a now-closed gun store, Indy Trading Post, at 2851 Madison Ave. He purchased that weapon Sept. 9, 2020.
Ultimately, authorities announced about three months after the shooting that the FBI’s Behavioral Analysis Unit had determined the attack was “an act of suicidal murder” in which Hole decided to kill himself “in a way he believed would demonstrate his masculinity and capability while fulfilling a final desire to experience killing people.”
“Only the shooter knows all the reasons why he committed this horrific act of violence,” then-FBI Indianapolis Special Agent in Charge Paul Keenan said, adding that Hole “did not appear to have been motivated by bias or desire to advance any ideology.”
Since the shooting, Marion County officials have made significant changes to the red flag process. Police are now required to submit red flag cases directly to the court anytime they seize a gun under the law, rather than relying on prosecutors to file a case. The number of people who are found dangerous and prohibited from purchasing guns has increased dramatically.
Contact IndyStar reporter Tony Cook at 317-444-6081 or tony.cook@indystar.com. Follow him on X: @IndyStarTony.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: FBI releases last of records on FedEx mass shooter. Here’s what they show
Reporting by Tony Cook, Indianapolis Star / Indianapolis Star
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
