Indianapolis firefighters who responded to last week's mass shooting at a FedEx facility are still processing the experience after helping those who were injured in the incident that left nine dead, including the gunman.
“No one expects this to happen the day that they wake up, or drive to work, including us, I suppose," Decatur Township firefighter Jacob Humphrey told WRTV-TV.
Humphrey was one of the Ladder 71's firefighters who responded to the April 15 shooting at a shipping center near the Indianapolis International Airport. Brandon Hole, 19, opened fire with two AR-15-style rifles, killing eight people before taking his own life.
“(The scene) rapidly started to escalate on the way there, and once we got there, we saw that we had more people shot,” said Lt Scott McCaughna told WRTV.
Once at the scene, the firefighters immediately went into assessing the situation and treating the injured, Assistant Chief Chuck Valentine.
“Came to a patient that had suffered an injury, we triaged him, labeled him as green and stable, quickly banded up his wounds, and then waited for the next patient to come along,” Humphrey said.
Since the incident, the team has received calls and messages from people around the country, asking about how they were handling the aftermath, McCaughna said. The firefighters also have had their department and the local residents to lean on.
“It hit close to home," Humphrey said. "In this situation, the department has been wonderful with the peer support, and just the support that we've been given that way and from the community."
