Phone of US man who killed three at Indiana mall had Hitler photos, ‘extremely graphic’ videos of killings

INDIANAPOLIS: A 20-year-old man who carried out a mass shooting at an Indianapolis-area mall last year had disturbing content on his cellphone, including images of Adolf Hitler, Nazi propaganda, firearms, and “extremely graphic” videos of previous mass killings, according to police. The FBI, who recently managed to unlock the phone, discovered over 200 videos and 3,400 images, as well as call and text logs, internet searches, and notes kept on the device. The cellphone also contained a suicide note written by the shooter over two years before the attack.

The shooting took place at Greenwood Park Mall on July 17, 2022, where the attacker, Jonathan Douglas Sapirman, opened fire inside the food court. Thankfully, an armed shopper ultimately stopped Sapirman, but not before he had fired 24 times in a 15-second span. Sapirman’s phone, which he dropped into a toilet at the mall during the incident, provided important insights into his mindset and potential motivations for the attack.

Among the videos discovered on the cellphone were recordings of various mass shootings, including the September 2016 Cascade Mall attack in Burlington, Washington, which claimed the lives of five people. In addition, the FBI found photos of Adolf Hitler and Nazi propaganda on the device, reinforcing the shooter’s apparent interest in Nazi Germany. This aligns with previous reports from police, who revealed that Sapirman had posted over 700 comments about mass killers on social media between 2017 and 2022.

However, the most chilling discovery on the phone was a photo of an apparent suicide note, dated April 9, 2020. The handwritten note begins with the words “My final thoughts on paper” and continues with the disturbing admission, “I’m a sociopath. I want to hurt people.” This finding, along with statements from Sapirman’s ex-girlfriend, who claimed he had expressed a desire to take others with him if he ever killed himself, suggests that his homicidal and suicidal thoughts had been evolving over a prolonged period.

ALSO READ: Woman assaults student with book in police's presence.

Furthermore, police also found a note on the cellphone, written less than a month before the shootings, that appeared to be a draft of a text Sapirman intended to send his brother. In the note, dated June 18, 2022, Sapirman disturbingly wrote, “I’m gonna shoot myself.” This adds further evidence to the notion that Sapirman had been contemplating violence against himself and others in the lead-up to the attack.

While the motive for the shooting remains unclear, authorities have stated that there is no evidence to suggest it was racially motivated. According to Greenwood Police Chief James Ison, Sapirman’s ex-girlfriend had reported that he harbored racist views towards African Americans and Hispanics due to negative experiences in his past. However, the shooting victims were Hispanic, further complicating the understanding of the attacker’s motives.

The armed bystander, Elisjsha Dicken, who was present at the mall with his girlfriend, became a hero when he fatally shot Sapirman, effectively ending the attack. Dicken’s swift action and legal possession of a firearm allowed him to neutralize the threat, receiving praise from law enforcement.