How a ‘Red Flag’ Law Failed in Indiana

<p>Last spring, Brandon Hole’s mother alerted the police in Indiana about her son’s worrying behavior. Invoking the state’s “red flag” law, officers seized his firearm.</p><p>But Mr. Hole was able to legally purchase other weapons, and last week, he opened fire on a FedEx facility, killing eight people and then himself.</p><p>Why did the law fail?</p><p>Guest: <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/by/campbell-robertson">Campbell Robertson</a>, a national correspondent for The New York Times. </p><p><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/newsletters/signup/NTTD?smid=pc-thedaily">Sign up here</a> to get The Daily in your inbox each morning. And for an exclusive look at how the biggest stories on our show come together, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/newsletters/the-daily?module=inline">subscribe to our newsletter</a>. </p><p>Background reading: </p><ul><li>Red flag laws are supposed to keep guns away from people who should not have them.<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/18/us/fedex-shooting-indianapolis-gun-laws.html"> That did not happen with Mr. Hole</a>.</li><li><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/19/us/indianapolis-shooting-red-flag-law.html">Citing shortcomings of the state’s red flag law</a>, the senior county prosecutor in Indianapolis explained why he did not seek a ruling last year that would have barred Mr. Hole from possessing guns.</li></ul><p>For more information on today’s episode, visit <a href="http://nytimes.com/thedaily?smid=pc-thedaily">nytimes.com/thedaily</a>. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.</p>