RED FLAGGED

Tony Cook and Johnny Magdaleno, Indianapolis Star

January 7, 2022 at 5:04 PM·3 min read

On April 15, 2021, a gunman fatally shot eight people at a FedEx facility in Indianapolis. It was the worst mass casualty event in the city's history.

But it wasn't the only one. Indianapolis suffered three mass killings this year, more than any other city in the country.

After learning the FedEx gunman previously had a gun seized under Indiana's red flag law, IndyStar began to investigate why authorities didn't do more to stop him.

Reporters found they could have done more. Authorities failed to recognize the warning signs and take adequate steps to intervene.

Those failures extend beyond the FedEx shooting.

Indiana's red flag law, among the first of its kind, has been touted as a national model. But IndyStar found authorities in Indianapolis failed to use it to help prevent other shootings.

Even as gun violence climbed to record-breaking numbers, police and prosecutors failed to file in court more than 100 red flag cases that they should have. That means a judge was never given the chance to restrict the gun rights of people who police considered dangerous.

The results, too often, are tragic. At least 14 people have been killed and eight injured in shootings that may have been prevented if not for gaps in the law and authorities' reluctance to use its full power.

‘Indiana is an accessory to murder’: Failure to enforce red flag laws ended in 14 deaths

Thomas and Brenda Limbach hold a photo of their late daughter, Jill Phipps, on Tuesday, Sept. 14, 2021. The photograph of Phipps was taken on her wedding day. According to police, Phipps was shot and killed by her husband.

IndyStar found that a gap in Indiana's red flag law and poor execution by police and prosecutors have undermined its effectiveness, especially in Marion County. Read the story

‘A tremendous failure’: New details show interventions failed to stop FedEx shooting

Sheila Hole, mother of the FedEx mass shooter, is photographed on Tuesday, Oct. 28, 2021, in Indianapolis.

An IndyStar review of health records, police reports and interviews with the FedEx shooter’s mother reveal countless warning signs and half-measures taken in the months leading up to the massacre. Read the story

This is why we are writing about a mass shooter

Understanding the FedEx shooter’s interaction with mental health professionals and law enforcement might help prevent another such incident. Read the story

FedEx mass shooter’s past held more violence, missed red flags, disclosed documents reveal

A 2013 police report about the FedEx shooter. Redacted by IndyStar.

A report obtained by IndyStar after a public records fight with Indianapolis police shows the FedEx shooter was accused of punching his mother in the face and stabbing her with a table knife in 2013. Read the story

In FedEx shooting’s wake, prosecutor filed wave of red flag cases after they sat for weeks

Marion County Prosecutor Ryan Mears talks with media on Monday, April 19, 2021, about the individual who authorities said recently killed eight people in an overnight shooting at a FedEx Ground Plainfield Operations Center on Indianapolis' southwest side.

The number of red flag filings made in court nearly tripled in the weeks following the FedEx shooting. Read the story

Prosecutor criticized for not using red flag law against FedEx killer

TOP: Matthew R. Alexander, Samaria Blackwell, Amarjeet Kaur Johal, Jasvinder Kaur. BOTTOM: Amarjit Sekhon, Jaswinder Singh, Karli Smith, John Weisert.

Gun policy experts and politicians said Marion County Prosecutor Ryan Mears’ office should have pursued the red flag law after police confiscated a firearm from the 19-year-old who fatally shot eight people at a FedEx facility. Read the story

Four minutes at FedEx: Inside the terror of Indianapolis’ deadliest mass shooting

The scene outside a FedEx facility in Indianapolis where multiple people were reportedly shot late Thursday night, April 15, 2021.

The city’s most recent tragedy claimed the lives of eight people. This is how it unfolded. Read the story

Meet the team

Reporting: Tony Cook, Johnny Magdaleno, Amelia Pak-Harvey, Alexandria Burris, Tim Evans, Kaitlin Lange, Emily Hopkins, Elizabeth DePompei, Justin L. Mack

Photos, videos, illustrations: Michelle Pemberton

Editing: Alvie Lindsay, Max Gersh

Digital design: Andrea Brunty

Social media, engagement and promotion: Joe Mutascio, Channing King

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Red Flagged: IndyStar's investigation on Indiana gun laws

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