Timeline: FedEx shooter had over a dozen mental health care, law enforcement encounters
This story contains discussion of suicide. If you or someone you know is struggling with suicidal thoughts, call the Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-8255 or seek out area resources.
Sept. 7, 2011
The person who would become the FedEx killer is 10 years old. His agitated behavior spurs his mother, Sheila Hole, to take him to Barrington Health Center. He is assessed to have obsessive-compulsive disorder and is given anxiety medication.
Aug. 7, 2012
A few weeks after starting 5th grade, he is seen again at Barrington Health Center. Medical records show his mother reports he has been resistant to attending school and been very aggressive “to the point that mom doesn’t know what to do anymore.” His behaviors are described as “aggression to others, aggression to self, lies excessively, blatant disrespect for authority, property destruction, leaves home without permission.” He “often loses temper, argues with adults...often blames others for his/her mistakes, is often touchy or easily annoyed by others, is angry and resentful.” He tells the nurse practitioner, “when I’m nice, I’m really nice and when I’m mad, I’m very angry.” The medical records indicate his mother “has had to call the police on patient he’s been so abusive to her.” For the first time in his medical history, he is described by a nurse as being at risk for self-harm. He is assessed with disruptive behavior disorder and anxiety disorder. He is prescribed more of the same medication.
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Sept. 19, 2012
He is seen again at Barrington Health Center. Medical records say his medication is having a “mild benefit” with some improvement to his anxiety. But he is still “feeling restless or on edge,” has a history of panic attacks, and has “compulsive tendencies.” His behaviors, like aggression towards others and property destruction, persist. The records also indicate post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms from stress and trauma including his father’s suicide, which happened when he was three. “Police have been called once since last visit,” the records say. His medication dosage is doubled.
Sept. 27, 2012
During another visit at Barrington Health Center, his mother says he has always been aggressive to her, but she never told anybody.
Oct. 18, 2012
Records from Barrington Health Center show his anxiety is improving, medication is providing mild benefit, and he is seeing a counselor. He has been less aggressive and has gone to school daily since last visit. A second medication is prescribed.
Oct. 24, 2012
During a behavioral therapy session at Barrington Health Center, he identifies obsessive thoughts. He also completes a 5-point anger scale, but no results are noted in the records.
May 16, 2013
He is arrested after an altercation with his mother and her boyfriend. He is accused of punching his mother in the face and stabbing her in the arm with a table knife, according to a police report. He is transported to juvenile detention. His mother told IndyStar he was put on probation for several months.
March 3, 2020
His mother alerts police that her 18-year-old son is suicidal and purchased a shotgun the day before. According to police records, she tells police that when she confronted him about the gun, he hits her and says, “This is not the life I want to live I’ll end it my way.” He also says, “I am going to point this unloaded gun at the police and they will shoot me.” Police arrive and place him in handcuffs. "Please just turn the power strip off on my computer," he says. "I don't want anyone to see what's on it." Officers seize the shotgun and observe what they described as white supremacist websites on his computer. They transport him to Eskenazi. His mother says he is held for less than two hours. He denies any suicidal thoughts and says he does not feel like he would hurt himself or others, according to medical records. There is no indication in the records that he was seen by a psychologist or a psychiatrist.
Early March 2020
He smacks his mother in the side of the head and yells at her for disclosing to police that he hits her. IMPD calls about returning his shotgun. She says “Hell no!” and convinces her son to tell police to keep it, according to Sheila Hole. IMPD behavioral health officers also visit the family's home to check on her son. Frustrated that he didn't receive help the first time and fearing he might hit her again, she asks them to leave.
March 11, 2020
The Marion County Prosecutor's Office reviews the March 3, 2020 incident but decides not to pursue a red flag case. This could have prevented him from possessing or purchasing additional firearms. Prosecutor Ryan Mears would later say his office didn't have access to evidence strong enough to convince a judge he was a danger to himself or others.
Mid- to late-March 2020
FBI task force officer Matt Stevenson asks to speak with Sheila Hole and meets her in his car outside her workplace, where he asks her a series of questions, according to Sheila Hole. The questions include: Is he a loner? Does he have a girlfriend? Does he get on 4chan, an internet image board? Then Stevenson says her son hits every red flag for a mass shooter, according to Sheila Hole. He says he will need to speak with her son.
Mid-April 2020
According to Sheila Hole, Stevenson and another member of the FBI’s joint terrorism task force interview her son at the family’s home. Stevenson questions him about his connection to websites for adult fans of My Little Pony where sexual, violent and racist fan art is often shared. The encounter left him furious, his mother says.
July 7, 2020
He wants to buy a gun. His mother believes he has been red flagged and will be turned away. Fearing how he will react, she goes with him to the Indy Arms Company gun store. She is surprised when he comes out of the store, smiling, with a rifle.
August 2020
He begins working at the FedEx Ground facility near the Indianapolis International Airport.
Aug. 19, 2020
He calls FBI task force officer Matt Stevenson, according to his mother, who said she was in the car with him at the time. He accuses Stevenson of bringing his personal opinions into his investigation and says their interaction stressed him out. “What side should I join if you gonna label me?” Sheila Hole recalls her son saying. “You're labeling me a neo-Nazi white supremacist, but you got the FBI kneeling to Black Lives Matter. And I don't see any white supremacists doing anything. But Black Lives Matter are out here burning, rioting.” Stevenson tells him he doesn’t have time to argue with him and ends the phone call, according to Sheila Hole.
Sept. 9, 2020
He purchases a second rifle at Indy Trading Post, according to his mother. She says she was unaware of the purchase at the time.
October 2020
He stops showing up for work at FedEx and is terminated.
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March 19, 2021
His mother takes him to an Eskenazi Health clinic on the west side and waits for more than four hours, but can’t be seen due to a lack of staff, according to a letter from the clinic that Sheila Hole provided to IndyStar.
March 22, 2021
He undergoes an intake assessment at Eskenazi Health’s clinic on Crawfordsville Road. Medical records indicate that his problems include “generalized anxiety disorder” with “panic attacks” and “major depressive disorder, recurrent” with “chronic suicidal ideation.” He has “obsessive compulsive tendencies,” “poor anger control,” and “impaired social functioning due to social anxiety and other mental health symptoms.” The records reference his earlier interaction with law enforcement. “Involvement with FBI and IMPD terrorism unit was traumatizing,” the records say. He says he excessively worries “about everything, financial problems, my mental state. I worry that I could one day kill myself.” He also says, “I can get very, very angry. I have very little control over myself when that happens.” The records say he will benefit from medication for psychiatric symptoms, but there is no indication that he was actually prescribed any medication. He is deemed a “moderate risk” and given a suicide prevention safety plan. One of the plan's steps: “No guns in the house.”
March 31, 2021
He meets with an Eskenazi social worker for a therapy session. He tells the social worker "he doesn’t have empathy; he doesn’t care about the lives of others even his own mother." He says he was intimidated by their presence and they were too intrusive. The experience "made him very angry towards society and law enforcement." He reports he tried to hang himself but he didn’t have the rope positioned correctly. He is given a suicide risk assessment, but “Risk was not identified,” according to the records.
April 14, 2021
A day before the FedEx shooting, he meets with the Eskenazi social worker again, specifically to address his anger issues. He tells the therapist he feels he might be bipolar because his “mood switches.” He also says he might be a “vulnerable narcissist” even though he is shy. He asks the therapist if his mother could join them. She tells the therapist about the shotgun confiscation and says she didn't realize he "would be able to own a gun so soon.” The records show one of his triggers is his Applejack plush toy. No one is allowed to touch it. He "loves 'My Little Pony.'" It is not in the medical records, but according to Sheila Hole her son tells the therapist, who is Black, “You’re not going to like this, but they labeled me a white supremacist.” When the therapist does not react, he goes on. “You’re not going to like this either. I’m not a white supremacist, but if I was, that would be my legal right to be one.” He also tells the therapist he has no empathy for anyone, he's a danger to society and society should be afraid of him, according to his mother. She begins to cry and says, “He needs help.” According to Sheila Hole, the therapist pats her on the shoulder and tells her, “We’ll get him. He will be fine.”
April 15, 2021
He drives to his former employer, FedEx, where he uses two rifles to shoot and kill eight workers. Five others are injured. It’s the worst mass shooting in the city’s history.
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Contact IndyStar reporter Tony Cook at 317-444-6081 or tony.cook@indystar.com. Follow him on Twitter: @IndyStarTony.
Call IndyStar courts reporter Johnny Magdaleno at 317-273-3188 or email him at jmagdaleno@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @IndyStarJohnny
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: FedEx shooting: Timeline shows killer's encounters with authorities
