INDIANAPOLIS — FOX59 has learned FedEx shooter Brandon Hole was on law enforcement’s radar over the last few years. So we wanted to know whether the government could have missed potential warning signs about the teenager’s behavior.
Court records show that 19-year-old Hole was on authorities’ radar well before the shooting at the FedEx ground facility.
“To keep tabs on everyone that has been reported suspicious is just impossible,” said Doug Kouns, a former FBI Agent.
However, just being on the radar isn’t enough. As Kouns explains, once someone is reported to the FBI, a preliminary inquiry of 180 days is launched, but if nothing is found during that period the person will fall off the radar.
“You can’t realistically watch everyone who has even been suspicious for the rest of their lives,” Kouns said. “That’s where you start to trample on a person’s civil liberties.”
Here’s what we know: Hole was interviewed by the FBI in April of last year.
Officials determined that no criminal violation had occurred at that time, despite what could happen in the future.
“Just because someone isn’t a threat today, doesn’t mean they won’t be a threat tomorrow and they may have fallen off the radar,” Kouns said.
Before he retired from the FBI five years ago, Kouns says there wasn’t a strategy for handling tips on people with mental health problems. It’s something he hopes might change in the future.
