911 calls from NHK shooting released to I-Team 8

FRANKFORT, Ind. (WISH) — The calls from fellow co-workers to the 911 center were frantic. Many of them had witnessed an act of evil that is hard to describe.  

The names of the 911 callers have been redacted by the Clinton County Dispatch Center.

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WARNING: Some of these calls may be hard to listen to.

Caller: Somebody get the police to NHK.  

911 operator: Are you at the NHK by I-65?  

Caller: They shootin’. Somebody got shot. 

911 Operator: OK.   

On Wednesday just after 4 p.m., Promise Mays and her grandmother Pamela Sledd were shot and killed in the NHK parking lot. I-Team 8 has obtained the calls made just seconds after the suspect left the parking lot.   

911 operator: Can you see if they are breathing? Are they breathing? 

Caller: No, they are not breathing, sir. 

911 operator: They are not breathing?  

Caller: No sir. 

According to court documents, Gary Ferrell tried to force Mays into his car and she struggled to get away. When Sledd attempted to intervene, the suspect shot her and then turned the gun on Mays.    

Caller: The person that did it is driving a blue Ford heading eastbound on (IN-28) right now.

911 operator: Blue Ford eastbound on 28?  

Caller: Yeah, a light blue Ford and he is at a high rate of speed. We know his name; he is an employee. Hold on, there are two people shot out here sir, I need EMS right away.

911 operator: Can you see if they are breathing?

Caller: No, they are not breathing, sir. 

Mays and Sledd often rode to work together, and on Wednesday, their family says they had. They had arrived just in time for their shift. At the time, the parking lot was fairly full.

They were gunned down in full view of their co-workers. 

911 operator: Are you at the plant?  

Caller: Yes, I heard gunshots. I was sittin’ in my car waiting to go in.  

From the other calls, I-Team 8 knows at least one co-workers attempted to perform first aid. When police arrived, both women had died.