FBI finds 'extremely graphic' files on Greenwood mall shooter's phone, but no specific motive
This story contains discussion of suicide. If you or someone you know may be struggling with suicidal thoughts, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-8255 or 988 or seek out area resources.
Ten months after a 20-year-old opened fire and killed three people in the Greenwood Park Mall food court, the FBI accessed the contents of his phone.
While the bureau wasn't able to find any searches or content specifically related to the July 17, 2022, shooting, the gunman's plans or motive, in May it recovered thousands of images and hundreds of videos, as well as notes, internet search history and call and text logs.
Still without a clear motive for the shooting, police said photos of an apparent suicide note dated over two years before the act "leads us to believe (the shooter's) homicidal and suicidal thoughts had been manifesting for years."
Previous coverage: Greenwood mall shooter fascinated with German Reich, yet ‘no clear motive’ for attack
Here's what they found, according to a news release from Greenwood police.
Greenwood shooter's phone contained violent media, Nazi propaganda
The Greenwood Police Department previously said investigators had obtained two electronics purportedly owned by the shooter, including a cell phone and laptop. While the laptop, found in a running oven with a can of butane that exploded, was too damaged to retrieve data from, the FBI took the cell phone.
Investigators recovered over 3,400 images and 200 videos from the shooter's phone, Greenwood police said, many of which were "extremely graphic in nature."
Some videos depicted mass killings, including security camera footage of the mass shooting at Cascade Mall in Burlington, Washington, on Sept. 23, 2016.
The FBI also recovered photos of Adolf Hitler and Nazi propaganda on the shooter's cell phone. Police previously said the gunman had a fascination with the German Reich, according to information obtained from social media posts and interviews with family and friends.
Investigators had previously searched his Facebook, Instagram, Reddit and 4-chan accounts. Police said in late 2022 that hours before the shooting, the man posted a photo on 4-chan with a gun pointed to the back of his head. He often discussed mass shootings on his social media accounts, like Reddit, commenting that he studied them, Greenwood police said.
While the gunman had Gmail accounts with names like “The dark will rise” and “Greater German Reich,” police said at the time investigators found no evidence supporting that he held antisemitic beliefs or Nazi idealizations.
FBI finds photos of shooter's apparent suicide note
The FBI also recovered photos of a handwritten note believed to be authored by the shooter, taken on April 9, 2020.
"I am a sociopath. I want to hurt people," the note reads. The note also includes mention of the desire to shoot himself. "This was a result of my issues: mental instability, depression, frustration, and sexual isolation," the note reads.
In a note on his phone, the shooter also drafted a text to his brother on June 18, 2022, expressing that he wanted to die by suicide. That same day, he searched online how to do so.
Greenwood police had previously disclosed that an ex-girlfriend of the shooter told investigators she was unsurprised he carried out the act and that he had been abusive and threatened her with guns during their relationship. The couple had broken up about a year and a half before the shooting, police said.
She also said the shooter had told her that "if he ever killed himself, he would take others with him,” Greenwood Police Chief James Ison said in a Dec. 2022 news conference.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Greenwood Park Mall shooter's phone unlocked: What the FBI found
