Indianapolis responds with silence to FedEx shooting victims request for $2.1M in compensation
The City of Indianapolis has responded with silence to a request for millions of dollars of compensation by victims of last year's FedEx mass shooting in Indianapolis, narrowing their chances of a payout.
Two victims and a victim's family member each requested $700,000 through a tort claim notice sent to the city in October.
The attorney for Harpreet Singh, Lakhwinder Kaur and Gurinder Bains wrote that all three suffered "significant losses" because the Marion County Prosecutor's Office and the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department failed to pursue a red flag petition in court against the FedEx shooter after a March 2020 incident in which his mother told police he was armed, violent and suicidal.
Authorities seized a shotgun from him under Indiana's red flag law in response to the incident, but they declined to open a court petition against him.
If they had, it may have prevented the shooter from purchasing the two AR-15 style rifles that he used to fatally shoot eight people and wound five others at a FedEx facility in southwest Indianapolis in April 2021. It was the worst mass shooting in the city's history.
Under Indiana law, government agencies that receive tort claim notices could agree to pay the victims or deny the request. If the agency denies their request, victims could respond with a lawsuit.
Indiana law also says agencies cannot be sued if they fail to enforce laws.
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The city had until Jan. 10 to respond. Its silence is the equivalent of a denial.
Even though the deadline has passed, the Sikh Coalition told IndyStar its lawyers will not be pursuing a lawsuit.
Four of the eight people killed at FedEx belonged to the Sikh community: Amarjeet Kaur Johal, Jasvinder Kaur, Jaswinder Singh and Amarjit Sekhon. The other four who were fatally wounded were Karli Smith, Matthew R. Alexander, Samaria Blackwell and John Weisert.
'Underlying failures'
Indiana's red flag law allows law enforcement to remove firearms from people they believe are a danger to themselves or others. After a firearms seizure, law enforcement must file an affidavit with the court, and prosecutors explain to a judge why authorities believe the person is dangerous.
If a judge decides they are dangerous, their name is sent to a background check system managed by the FBI, restricting their ability to purchase firearms through federally licensed dealers.
Authorities never gave a judge a chance to review the March 2020 incident. That summer, the FedEx shooter legally purchased two AR-15 style rifles.
"They don't have a flag on me," he told his mom with a smile after one of the purchases.
On April 15, he fired those rifles on workers during a shift change at a FedEx facility.
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Singh survived a bullet wound to the head. Kaur's left arm was grazed. Kaur was also standing behind Jaswinder Singh — Bains' father — when he was fatally shot. She now has psychological distress, according to the tort claim notice.
"All three of our clients suffered losses as a result of the underlying failures of the Marion County Prosecutor's Office that could have prevented the mass shooting," the notice said.
Marion County Prosecutor Ryan Mears told reporters his office did not pursue a red flag petition in court in March 2020 partly because state law says courts need to have a hearing as close as possible to 14 days after the seizure to determine if the person is dangerous.
That doesn't give prosecutors enough time to subpoena medical records and other evidence to build a case, Mears said.
The IndyStar, part of the Paste BN Network, found that the FedEx shooter had numerous encounters with law enforcement and mental health professionals before the shooting — including a 2013 incident in which he was arrested after his mom accused him of punching her in the face and stabbing her with a table knife. He was 11 years old at the time.
The IndyStar also found that Mears' statements about not having enough time to subpoena medical records were overstated. Reporters sat in on dozens of red flag petition hearings after the FedEx shooting. Many people were found dangerous with little more than testimony from a police officer.
In their tort claim notice, the victims' attorneys claimed authorities failed "to follow the statutorily mandated protocols" outlined in Indiana's red flag law.
Follow Johnny Magdaleno on Twitter @IndyStarJohnny