Public reports indicate that the gunman behind the FedEx massacre was able to legally obtain two rifles – even after having another rifle removed last year – because he never had a skills trial.
Under the so-called “red flag law” of Indiana, the authorities are supposed to intervene in court when they seize guns and believe that it could be a threat to give it back to someone, to get the guns out of the wrong hands to keep.
The measure is also known as the “Jake Laird Law”, in memory of a police officer in Indianapolis who was killed by a mentally ill man after his guns were returned to him.
But Brandon Hole – the 19-year-old behind Thursday’s massacre at the FedEx plant where he previously worked in Indianapolis – was apparently never the subject of such a trial, even though he was involved in an arms case amid mental problems which involved the FBI last year, according to records.
Authorities in Indianapolis told The Post on Sunday that they were investigating the situation.
“We are investigating this matter and will contact you as soon as possible for more information,” a spokesman for the Marion Prosecutor’s Office said.
On March 3, 2020, Hole had a brand new shotgun taken away from him when his mother called 911 and said he had a desire to commit suicide by a police officer, reports the Indy Star.
A police record for the incident states that police seized a dangerous person on a gun and that Hole was arrested for an immediate mental health attitude.
Under the state’s ‘red flag law’, police are required to file an affidavit in court when a firearm is taken, explaining why the person who had it is dangerous, according to Indiana State Police instructions. .
The gun owner has the right to a trial no later than 14 days after the seizure if they want to fight their case.
After a trial, if the court rules that the person is dangerous, law enforcers may keep the firearm, and the license of the gun owner to carry it is suspended and he or she is no longer able to possess weapon according to the police.
If the court finds no probable cause, the firearms must be returned within five days.
Police said Hole’s shotgun was never returned to him, although there are no records in public court showing he was before the judge between March 3 last year and the shooting last week. Hole legally bought two guns, authorities said.
It is unclear if the police ever filed an affidavit in court as they should, or if Hole would ever plan for a probation hearing.
The COVID-19 pandemic had only begun to disrupt the judicial process by the time he would be one.
Indianapolis Police Chief Randal Taylor told the New York Times that authorities did not consider Hole under the “red flag law” even though he was named a “dangerous person” in the police report.
The principal said he was not sure if the teen had ever been tried or how his department owned his gun.
“I do not know how we held it,” Taylor said.
