FDX FedEx Corp

By Erin Mendell 

A gunman killed eight people and wounded others at a FedEx Corp. facility in Indianapolis before killing himself, the city's police said.

The police responded just after 11 p.m. local time on Thursday to reports of shots being fired at the facility near Indianapolis's airport and encountered the shootings still in progress, Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department spokeswoman Genae Cook said at a news conference.

In a statement posted at 6 a.m. Friday, the police department said five people with injuries consistent with gunshot wounds were transported to local hospitals. Two victims were treated at the scene and released.

In a statement, FedEx said, "We are deeply shocked and saddened by the loss of our team members following the tragic shooting at our FedEx Ground facility in Indianapolis."

"Our most heartfelt sympathies are with all those affected by this senseless act of violence," the company said. "The safety of our team members is our top priority, and we are fully cooperating with investigating authorities."

On Twitter, Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett praised the city's first responders.

"Their quick response provided critical aid to those injured in the shooting and brought a measure of calm to an otherwise chaotic scene," he said.

U.S. Rep. André Carson, who represents much of Indianapolis, said on Twitter: "I am heartbroken by the mass shooting at the FedEx facility here in Indianapolis and praying for all affected by this tragedy."

The FedEx facility employs more than 4,500 people and is the second-largest hub for the company globally, according to the Indianapolis Star newspaper. The police directed people who couldn't reach family members who work at the facility to gather at a hotel, rather than go to the scene of the shooting.

There have been several smaller shootings at FedEx and UPS facilities in recent years. In June 2017, a UPS warehouse worker opened fire during a morning meeting of delivery drivers in San Francisco, killing three before turning the gun on himself.

In recent weeks, there has been a rash of mass shootings in the U.S., after comparatively few over the course of the Covid-19 pandemic. On March 16, a gunman killed eight people at spas and massage parlors in the Atlanta area. Days later, another gunman killed 10 at a supermarket in Boulder, Colo.

Mass shootings tend to come in clusters, and when one occurs another is likely to follow, according to research by the Violence Project, a mass-shooting database founded by criminology professors Jillian Peterson and James Densley.

Valerie Bauerlein and Thomas Gryta contributed to this article.

Write to Erin Mendell at erin.mendell@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

April 16, 2021 08:29 ET (12:29 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2021 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.