The 19-year-old gunman who opened fire at a FedEx site in Indianapolis, killing eight workers before taking his own life, was a former employee with a history of mental illness which led to his detention by law enforcement last year, police and FBI officials said.

Four of those killed were Sikh, according to a community leader.  The FBI said the suspect had been placed under temporary mental health detention by Indianapolis police in March 2020 after his mother contacted law enforcement to report he might try to commit “suicide by cop”.

A shotgun was seized from his home but no ‘racially motivated violent extremism ideology’ was identified during the assessment, according to an FBI statement.  President Biden ordered the flags at government buildings to be lowered at half-mast and called on Congress again to pass gun violence prevention legislation, which he called for last week.