GREENWOOD, Ind — The FBI gained access to the Greenwood Park Mall shooter's cellphone nearly one year since the mass shooting that left three dead before an armed bystander shot and killed the shooter.
In May 2023, the FBI was able to unlock the shooter's phone, and analyze 206 videos and 3,458 images. Also recovered were notes, call and text logs, and internet searches.
They found pictures of Adolf Hitler, Nazi propaganda and firearms. Many of the videos were of mass killings and "extremely graphic in nature." One of the videos was of the Cascade Mall shooting in Burlington, Washington, in 2016.
There was also an image of a handwritten note from April 9, 2022, that appears to be a suicide note where he claims to have been struggling with mental illness.
There was also a note from June 18 that appeared intended for his brother that talked about him committing suicide, and there was a search for committing suicide.
There was nothing on the phone about the Greenwood Park Mall or plans for the July 17, 2022, mass shooting.
Police previously said information could not be recovered from the shooter's computer hard drive, which was found in the oven at his apartment, because it was too severely damaged.
The victims were 56-year-old Pedro Pineda, his wife, 37-year-old Rosa Mirian Rivera de Pineda, and 30-year-old Victor Gomez.
Armed bystander Elisjsha Dicken was hailed a hero for quickly pulling his own gun and hitting the shooter from 40 yards away.
Police said the 20-year-old shooter had two rifles, a handgun and several magazines of ammunition, but he only used one of the rifles.
Police said the shooter entered the mall at 4:54 p.m. on July 17. He immediately entered the bathroom at the food court and stayed there for an hour and two minutes. His cellphone was found submerged in a toilet in the bathroom.
As the shooter left the bathroom, he began firing, causing chaos at the mall. Police said the shooter fired 24 rounds during the shooting.
The shooter first shot and killed Gomez. Then, he fired into the food court, hitting and killing the Pinedas. He fired more shots into the food court area and wounded a 22-year-old woman in the leg, and a bullet fragment hit a 12-year-old girl in the back.
Dicken then began firing at the shooter as the shooter tried to retreat back into the bathroom but collapsed and died.
Investigation into the gunman
Police said the shooter was born in Columbus, Indiana, and lived there until his parents split when he was 5 years old. The shooter went with his mother to Florida, and at times, he was homeless. He had numerous juvenile disciplinary issues and had been in and out of the foster system six times.
"When he was in the DCS system, he did seek counseling quite often and in the school system," said a member of the FBI.
At the age of 17, he moved in with his brother in an apartment complex in Greenwood. He lived in the Polo Run Apartments from 2018 to 2022.
He quit his job in May 2022, and his brother removed his name from the lease with the shooter. The shooter's father then cut off financial support, and days before the mass shooting, the shooter received notice he was being evicted.
Police said the shooter used Reddit most often and made more than 700 comments on posts about mass shootings. His comments were more about debating and discussing the incidents and the tactics.
In December 2019, the FBI received a tip about someone taking a disturbing interest in mass shootings in online forums. The FBI tracked the posts to the Polo Run Apartments in Greenwood but could not identify a specific person as it was on the apartments' public Wi-Fi. With no criminal activity, the case was closed in March 2020.
Police interviewed friends and family about the shooter and searched several properties.
Police said during an interview with a friend of the shooter, that friend said the shooter was anti-social and had a strong interest in guns and drugs.
Police talked to an ex-girlfriend of the shooter, and she told them they broke up 18 months before. She told them she was not surprised at all he was behind the mass shooting at the mall. Police said she told them the shooter was abusive and stuck a gun in her mouth during an argument. She said he had made comments that he didn't belong in this world, would be dead by 20 and that if he took his own life, he would take others with him. She told police the shooter was racist toward Black and Hispanic people.
Police said before leaving the mall bathroom, the shooter searched for the ex-girlfriend on Instagram. One of his last calls was to his brother about the eviction.
Police said there is no clear reason or motive for the shooting or the location chosen. Greenwood Police Chief Jim Ison said the shooter left no note or manifesto on his motivation. Police also said there is no definitive proof those killed were targeted due to race or just because of close proximity as he exited the bathroom.