Judge dismisses suit against FedEx by families of 5 who died in 2021 warehouse shooting
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — A federal judge on Monday dismissed part of a lawsuit filed by families of five of the eight people who died in the April 15, 2021, shooting at a FedEx Ground facility in Indianapolis.
Federal judge Judge R. Sweeney II of the Indianapolis U.S. District Court says in the ruling that the families’ claims involved the Indiana Workers Compensation Act, which is outside a federal court’s jurisdiction.
The suit named FedEx Corp., FedEx Ground Service System Inc., Federal Express Corp., FedEx Corporate Services Inc., and Securitas Security Services USA as defendants. The families sought unspecified monetary damages. The lawsuit says that Securitas provided unarmed security for the facility.
The judge’s ruling affects all but Securitas, as it did not file a motion to dismiss as the other defendants had.
Killed in the shooting were Matthew R. Alexander, 32; Samaria Blackwell, 19; Amarjeet Johal, 66; Jasvinder Kaur, 50; Jaswinder Singh, 68; Amarjit Sekhon, 48; Karli Smith, 19; and John Steve Weisert, 74. Police say former FedEx employee Brandon Hole shot and killed eight people before taking his own life. The shooting began in the parking lot before Hole went inside the building.
Sheila Hole has said she had spoken to law enforcement about her son in 2020. Brandon Hole never appeared before a judge in a “red flag” hearing.