At least eight people were killed and several injured in a shooting at a Fedex facility in the US city of Indianapolis by a gunman who is believed to have then killed himself, police said.
One man who said he works at the plant near the city’s international airport said he saw the gunman start shooting and heard more than 10 shots.
“I saw a man with a sub-machine gun of some sort, an automatic rifle, and he was firing in the open. I immediately ducked down and got scared,” Jeremiah Miller said.
Cook told reporters officers had responded to an “active shooter incident” at around 11:00pm 0300 GMT), adding they believe the gunman — who has not been identified — died by suicide.
“The officers responded, they came in, they went in and they did their job. A lot of them are trying to face this because this is a sight that no one should ever have to see,” Cook said.
Authorities judged there was no longer an immediate threat to public safety, Cook told reporters, and police were still gathering information and identifying the victims as the investigation into the shooting continues.
“We have located eight people at the scene with injuries consistent to gunshot wounds. Those eight were pronounced deceased at the scene,” Cook said.
A Fedex spokeswoman confirmed to AFP that the company’s facility was the scene of the shooting, and said the firm was cooperating with authorities.
“We are aware of the tragic shooting at our ground facility near the Indianapolis airport,” the company said in a statement.
Live video showed police tape at the scene of the incident, which follows several mass shootings across the US in recent weeks.
Thursday’s shooting was the third in Indianapolis this year. In January, five people including a pregnant woman were killed and three adults and a child were killed in March.