Public records show that the shooter behind the FedEx massacre was able to legally obtain two rifles – even after having another pistol taken away last year – because he never had a proficiency hearing.
Under Indiana’s so-called “red flag law”, authorities are expected to seek court intervention when they seize weapons and believe that restitution to a person would be a threat, in an effort to keep weapons out of the wrong hands.
The measure is also known as the “Jake Laird Law”, in memory of an Indianapolis agent who was murdered by a mentally ill man after his weapons were returned to him.
But Brandon Hole – the 19-year-old behind Thursday’s massacre at the FedEx facility where he worked in Indianapolis – was apparently never the subject of such a hearing, even though he’d been involved in a gun case because of mental issues associated with it. had. the FBI last year, according to data.
Indianapolis authorities told The Post on Sunday that they are investigating the situation.
“We are investigating this matter and will be contacting more information as soon as possible,” said a Marion County prosecutor.
On March 3, 2020, Hole got a brand new shotgun taken from him when his mother called 911 and said he expressed a wish to commit suicide by a cop, the Indy Star reported.
According to a police report of the incident, police have seized a shotgun belonging to a “dangerous person” and that Hole has been taken into custody for immediate mental health custody, the news agency reported.
Under the state’s ‘red flag’ law, agents are supposed to file an affidavit with the court when a firearm is taken, explaining why the person who had it is dangerous, following instructions from Indiana State Police .
The gun owner has the right to be heard no later than 14 days after the seizure if he wants to fight his case.
If the court rules after a hearing that the person is dangerous, the police will be allowed to keep the firearm and the gun owner’s carrying license will be suspended and he or she will no longer be able to legally own a gun, police said.
If the court finds no probable cause, the firearms must be returned within five days.
Police have said that Hole’s rifle was never returned to him, although there are no public court records showing that he ever went to court between March 3 last year and the shooting last week. Hole then went on to legally buy two guns, authorities said.
It’s unclear if the police ever filed an affidavit to the court as they should, or if Hole was ever scheduled for a competence hearing.
The COVID-19 pandemic was just starting to disrupt the judicial process around the time he would have been in line.
Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department chief Randal Taylor told the New York Times that it appears authorities did not consider Hole under the “red flag law,” even though he was called a dangerous person in the police report.
The chief said he was unsure whether the teen had ever had a hearing or how his department retained possession of his shotgun.
“I don’t know how we held on to it,” Taylor said to the outlet.
