FedEx is reportedly investigating a policy prohibiting employees from taking their cell phones to work after a deadly mass shooting at one of the company’s facilities in Indianapolis.
The shipping giant told Insider it was re-evaluating the ban amid concerns that the policy made it more difficult for warehouse workers to contact their families after a gunman killed eight people there on Thursday night.
The staff members’ relatives were told to wait for information at a nearby Holiday Inn hotel, where some said they had difficulty reaching their loved ones because of the policy. local average
According to Indianapolis police officer Craig McCartt, some workers were unable to immediately contact their families when they left the warehouse to be interviewed or to meet their families at the hotel.
“It has certainly been a night of frustration and uncertainty for those families,” said McCartt, deputy chief of criminal investigations for the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department. told CNN early Friday. “I think that frustration was compounded by the fact that many of the employees did not carry cell phones in the facility.”
At least one employee was reportedly able to text her husband updates while the shooting was taking place.
“I communicated with her for a while and then it went quiet for a while so I came here to see what was going on,” said the husband, Ian Johnston. told local journalist Courtney Crown close to the shooting site. “When I got here she texted me and said, ‘I’m fine.’ ”
FedEx did not immediately respond to The Post’s request for comment on policies being investigated in the aftermath of the shooting that also sent four people with gunshot wounds to hospitals, according to the Indianapolis Star.
In a statement released Friday, the Tennessee-based company said it was “deeply shocked and saddened” by the deaths of its warehouse employees.
“Our sincere condolences go out to all affected by this senseless act of violence,” said FedEx. “The safety of our team members is our top priority and we fully cooperate with law enforcement agencies.”