FedEx to 'reevaluate' its policy requiring employees to lock up phones during shifts following Thursday's shooting at a FedEx facility in Indianapolis

  • Officials said eight people were killed in a shooting Thursday at an Indianapolis FedEx facility.
  • A policy barring use of cellphones while on the clock made it harder for family to contact workers.
  • FedEx says it’s reevaluating the policy in light of the shooting.
  • See more stories on Insider’s business page.

A FedEx representative told Insider the company was reevaluating its policy of not allowing employees to have phones with them during work hours following a deadly shooting at one of its Indianapolis facilities Thursday night.

Details continued to emerge about the shooting early Friday, but the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department said at least eight people were killed. Officer Genae Cook said during a press conference Thursday night that the gunman was believed to have died by suicide.

As news of the shooting spread, FedEx employees and their family members complained on Twitter that the company’s policy of not allowing employees to keep cellphones on them during work hours had left family members questioning whether their loved ones were safe.

Because most employees didn’t have cellphones on them at the time of the shooting, authorities told the workers’ relatives to gather at a nearby Holiday Inn to wait for further instruction.

Family members gathering there told the IndyStar reporter Sarah Nelson that employees were not allowed to keep phones on them while working.

Heather Wilson, a communications advisor with FedEx, told Insider: “Our focus at this time is on the safety and well-being of our team members and cooperating with investigators.”

The shooting took place at FedEx’s ground facility at 8951 Mirabel Road, near Indianapolis International Airport. The facility is more than 328,000 square feet, according to RealityTrac.

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