LEGAL LIMITATIONS

FedEx Shooter Never Had Competency Hearing After Mom’s ‘Suicide by Cop’ Report: Prosecutor

The prosecutor said that authorities were worried the hearing would have given shooter Brandon Hole a chance to win back the weapon they’d seized from him.

Brandon Hole, the 19-year-old who shot and killed eight people at a FedEx facility in Indianapolis on Thursday night, never underwent a “red flag” competency hearing after his mother called police last year to report that her son might commit “suicide by cop,” says Marion County Prosecutor Ryan Mears. Mears said that authorities thought they had done enough by confiscating Hole’s pump-action shotgun in March 2020. “The risk is if we move forward with the [red flag hearing] and lose, we have to give that firearm back to that person,” said Mears. “I think the case illustrates the limitations of the law.” According to Indiana authorities, Hole used two assault-style rifles in the attack on Thursday that he’d bought legally months after his mom reported him. They would not disclose where he’d bought the firearm, citing the ongoing investigation.