♪ this is "nightline." >> tonight, fed ex massacre in indianapolis. >> nobody should suffer like that. we're here to get a paycheck so we can keep on living. >> bullets flying leaving eight dead. how the horror unfolded. >> we heard three more shots. >> the hunt for the motive. why the gunman's back and forth warned the fbi last year. rewell.the eve of a royal the never-before-seen photos of prince philip and his queen, elizabeth, a lifetime of service and sacrifice. and the royal rift. the family coming togethr as a scandal threatens to tear them apart.

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♪ thanks for joining us. tonight, grief and outrage gripping indianapolis, the scene of the latest mass shooting in america. a gunman taking the lives of at least eight people at the second-largest fed ex facility in the world. now the red flags raised one year ago. what the fbi knew about the

suspect and why some experts say we need to brace for even more violence in the months ahead. >> last night, indianapolis was revisited by the scourge of gun violence that has killed far too many in our community and in our country. >> reporter: yet again, america is facing the tragedy of another mass shooting, the 147th this year alone. >> no piece of information will restore the lives that were taken. or the peace that was shattered. >> reporter: shattering the lives of eight families whose loved ones were killed at a fed ex facility in indianapolis. tonight we're learning their names. fed ex releasing a statement reading in part, as we all mourn the tragic loss of eight team members killed in the senseless violence at our fed ex ground facility in indianapolis, we want to again share our deepest condolences to the families, friends, and co-workers of the

victims. >> nobody should die like that. we're here to get a paycheck so then we can keep on living. >> reporter: authorities revealing the 19-year-old suspect was a former fed ex employee, armed with a rifle. so far, no motive has been determined. police say the shooter died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound before officers arrived on scene. as investigators search for answers, a country on edge is left with one question -- why? >> the united states has more weapons than they do people.pth and weapons than any other developed country. and the sad reality is, it's no surprise that we have the most mass shootings. >> this cannot be our new normal. >> i have a female who's in the control room who advised the subjects are still shooting. she does not have a visual but can hear the shots. >> reporter: police responded to reports of shots fired at this fed ex ground facility near the

airport. >> suspect description, white male, dark-colored clothing, last seen in parking lot. >> reporter: when officers arrived, they found eight killed, four outside the building, four inside. at least five others rushed to the hospital with gunshot wounds. >> they found a very chaotic and active crime scene. they found several victims injured and several victims deceased. >> reporter: according to law enforcement, witnesses say the suspect quickly started firing shots. the massacre lasting just one to two minutes. >> there was no confrontation with anyone that was there. there was no disturbance. there was no argument. he just appeared to randomly start shooting, and that began in the parking lot, and then he did go into the building, into the facility, for a brief period of time before he took his own life. >> reporter: timothy boyleette has worked at this facility for eight years and was working a double shift when he heard the commotion. >> we heard three more shots. then my buddy levi saw somebody

running out of the building. then more shots went off. >> reporter: roughly 100 employees in the vicinity of the facility at the time of the shooting. overnight, as news of the shooting spread, families of those employees gathered at this nearby holiday inn hotel, desperately waiting for answers. this father emotional when he learned his son was safe today. >> he was in the other building when it happened. i'm so thankful. but my heart goes out to all the people affected. >> reporter: as the investigation evolves, we're learning more about the suspect. 19-year-old brandon scott holm. the fbi revealing there were warning signs. his mother reported her son to law enforcement in march 2020, worried he would commit suicide by cop. he was placed on a temporary mental health hold and a shotgun was seized from his residence. but no criminal violation was found. >> you can look at somebody and go, i'm really concerned about this person. but they don't really have -- law enforcement doesn't have much to work with to do anything at that point.

that is the sad reality of sort of what law enforcement has to do. what am i really going to do with this kid that looks like at this point i can't do anything? >> reporter: the nation already reeling after a seemingly endless series of mat shootings the past two months alone as we're emerging from the pandemic. a mass shooting is defined as four or more people killed or injured. eight killed in atlanta in march. >> numerous gunshots coming from across the street. >> we do not have a witness who's alive that can tell house shot them. >> reporter: ten murdered in a boulder, colorado, grocery store six days later. >> i just started counting in between shots and listening to see what direction he was heading in. >> there's a shooter, active shooter, get away! >> reporter: the following week, four more people, including a child, killed in an office building in california. and just last week, three adults and two children in south carolina killed by a gunman who fatally shot himself.

the very next day, this time in texas, one killed, six wounded, at a cabinet-making plant. at least one mass shooting a week since march 16th. >> it is so important that we address some of these things that are known contributors to our violence epidemic. guns, it's absolutely one of them. >> reporter: elizabeth neumann is the former department of homeland security assistant secretary for counterterrorism for the trump administration. you describe this period as a heightened threat period, why? >> we're coming off of a very difficult year. a pandemic that increases the number of risk factors for individuals like loss of job, loss of loved one, any sort of sense that you lost control. the concern i have is that as we're reopening, we're creating more opportunities for mass gatherings. and those mass gatherings become targets of opportunity for an individual that is looking to strike out with violence.

we just need to be vigilant. >> reporter: since 2018, the number of mass shootings has increased every year. >> i woke up this morning, and there was a moment of disbelief before a moment of complete and utter sadness. this is the third mass shooting this year in indianapolis. and after the heartbreak, i got angry. >> reporter: indianapolis city-county councilor allie brown represents 38,000 people. what are you hearing from your constituents after these shootings? >> people are nervous. people are scared. they don't know why people do this, they don't know how they can go about their day. i'm a mom of a 4-year-old boy. dropping him off at school, i could see how scared everyone's faces were this morning. so when something like this happens, it shakes us to the core. >> reporter: she's been fighting for gun control measures in her state. in your legislative session, there have been at least 18 bills related to gun control, and most of them were to expand gun rights. as someone fighting for tighter

gun laws, what do you make of all that? >> it's really frustrating. when we as a city last year had a record amount of gun violence, a record amount of homicides, i've ridden with police officers in their cars who have told me, the issue is there's too many guns on our streets and it's too easy to get them. we need our state legislature to listen. >> reporter: her calls for change echoing across the country. president biden ordering flags to half staff for the third time this month, issuing a statement reading in part, gun violence is an epidemic in america, but we should not accept it, we must act. last week, the president introducing limited executive actions on gun control. but called on congress for more sweeping change. >> enough prayers. time for some action. >> reporter: today in a joint press conference with the japanese prime minister, president biden addressing the issue again. >> i strongly support the universal background checks which i continue to push, but congress has to step up and act.

the senate has to act. and i strongly support and continue and have never stopped supporting the ban on assault weapons and magazines that hold more than ten bullets. it's a national embarrassment and must come to an end. >> i was in eighth grade when columbine happened. i was in college, 14 years ago today, when virginia tech happened. i was a teacher when newtown happened. and now i'm a parent sending my kid into a school. this has been my whole life. and i don't want it to be an issue for my son. >> reporter: as an outraged nation is looking for answers, indianapolis is left to grieve and pick up the pieces. >> i think healing does depend on meaningful conversations between people about how we stop this cycle of violence that's driven by readily accessible guns. and i certainly intend to lead in that regard. >> hope and healing over hate.

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♪ we are just hours away from the funeral service of prince philip, one of england's most loyal patriots and the husband of queen elizabeth. now the carefully crafted details of the ceremony to present a united family as a series of scandals rock the british monarchy. here's abc's james longman. >> reporter: a nation and a queen prepared to say good-bye to elizabeth's beloved husband.

the palace releasing this never before seen picture of queen elizabeth and her prince, the duke of edinburgh. the family gathering at windsor castle, supporting the monarch as he carries on her duties without the man who's been at her side over 73 years. >> what an outpouring of love we've seen led by members of the royal family. >> reporter: this land rover modified by prince philip himself will carry his casket. prince charles, princess anne, and grandsons will follow. prince william and prince harry are set to walk behind the casket, the brothers joining forces publicly for the first time in a year. they won't be standing together. their cousin, peter phillips, will walk between them. >> much has been said about the brothers not standing shoulder to shoulder. but this is a family that really thinks about protocol. this is about establishing a sort of uniform procession with the oldest leading that walk and ichiro. and this is also not the first time harry and william haven't

walked side by side at a funeral. they were yards apart at the queen mother's funeral and also didn't walk by each other at princess diana's funeral. >> reporter: it will be the first time prince harry has been seen in public with his family since he and wife meghan relocated to the u.s. the ceremony comes six weeks after the bombshell interview with oprah winfrey where the couple claimed a member of the royal family questioned how dark their child's skin would be. >> meghan shared there was a conversation about archie's skin tone. what was that conversation? >> that conversation i'm never going to share. >> there was a lot of hurt in the royal family after the oprah interview aired. but this is the one time where people will truly leave the family drama to one side and focus on what matters. >> reporter: the ceremony will take place at st. george's chapel at st. wind door castle and it will be closed to the

public, attended by close family and friends, a total of 30 guests. with the threat of covid still looming, the queen will sit alone in st. george's castle. the 30 in attendance, including her majesty, will wear masks. in the week since he's passed, his family has offered loving tributes to their father and grandfather. >> my dear papa was a very special person who i think above all else would have been amazed by the reaction and the touching things that have been said about him. >> reporter: known for his quick wit and zest for life, prince philip lived every moment of his 99 years to the fulest. he was a stalwart of the british monarchy who lived an extraordinary life. dashingly handsome and full of vitality, a brave war hero who captured the heart of a princess. they first met in 1939. 13-year-old princess elizabeth visiting a naval college, seeing preference philip in the british royal navy. >> he had been very dashing as a

young man. and i think that's why the queen was so madly in love with him, right the way through her life with him. >> reporter: philip was born a prince, but it was far from a fairytale childhood. his family fled war and revolution in greece when he was just a baby. he spent his early years in exile. his mother later suffered a mental health breakdown and withdrew to a religious order. his father mostly absent, he died penniless in 1944. his boarding school in scotland was his one source of stability. after joining the royal navy, he distinguished himself in world war ii. >> prince philip was serving with the british forces and elizabeth was writing to him. when he returned from the war, that was really when their romance blossomed and he started to visit buckingham palace. people around them could really see that this was starting to turn into something, and this was quite significant. >> the day of the wedding, and immense crowds -- >> reporter: the two married in november of 1947 when she was just 21 years old. five years later, after the

sudden death of her father, king george vi, elizabeth ascended to the throne. at her coronation, philip knelt at the feet of his young wife. >> i, philip, will become your link man of life and limb -- >> my grandfather had a very successful career in the navy. he gave it all up to do his job, to be there to support the queen. >> reporter: in 2011, he spoke to the bbc about the challenges of those early years. >> the problem is, of course, it was still recognized what the niche was. and to try and grow into it. and that was by trial and error. there was no precedent. >> so your first duty, first and foremost, was support the queen? >> yes. >> what does that involve? >> helping her, supporting her, doing anything that is valuable to her. >> reporter: prince philip's gradual acceptance of his duty vividly portrayed in the netflix series "the crown." >> she is the job.

she is the essence of your duty. >> i understand, sir. >> reporter: while famously walking two steps behind his queen, in life philip and elizabeth were in lockstep as equal partners, raising four children in a loving, enduring marriage. >> behind the scenes, philip was very much the head of the family. and he was also really a family man. family members would often turn to him when they wanted advice. >> reporter: he was a constant and unfailing source of support for his wife as she carried the burden of the state on her shoulders. >> he was the only person who was able to tease her. and slightly mock her up, help her through the difficult times. >> reporter: prince philip supported more than 800 charities. he made more than 620 solo visits to 143 countries. traveling thousands of miles around the world with the queen on tours and state visits, but never grabbing the spotlight for himself. >> it must have been quite the thing for him being in the

shadow, being the support. hi does it fantastically well, he's never complained. >> it's obvious for all of us and should be obvious to everyone else that sees it is the fact that without him, you know, she would be slightly lost, i think. >> reporter: the duke of edinburgh koorve are carved out a new role for the monarchy. >> he was a modernizer, changed the royal family, to be more in step with society that people were living. >> reporter: he retired from public duties in 2017. he spent his final days at windsor castle with his wife, the queen. a comforting thought in this troubled time, the pair were able to shield together from the pandemic. in the last year of his life, elizabeth had the love of her life all to herself. >> our thanks to james. and a programming note, tune in tomorrow morning for complete coverage of the royal funeral, 9:30 a.m., 8:30 central, right here on abc. up next, the rock star

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finally tonight, the call of

the wild. two seal pups getting a new lease on life. found dehydrated along the shore of long island, new york. staff at a local marine rescue center caring for the little critters until they got better. the pair affectionately named billy joel and joan jett. big names for two big little personalities. now taking a big shot forward to a new life. quite the rock stars. that's "nightline." you can watch all our full episodes on hulu. we'll see you same time next week. thanks for staying up with us. have a wonderful weekend. good night, america.