2 dead, 5 injured in mass shooting in downtown Indianapolis overnight Friday

INDIANAPOLIS (WTHR) - The Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department (IMPD) says two people are dead and five others were injured in a mass shooting in downtown Indianapolis early Saturday morning.

According to the department, officers were responding to a scene at West Washington and South Meridian Streets around 1:30 a.m. when they were dispatched to South Illinois and West Washington Streets for a ‘disturbance’.

As officers made their way to South Illinois and West Washington Streets, they say they heard gunfire and arrived to find multiple people wounded.

Medics, who were assisting IMPD at the previous scene, began providing aid to the victims.

Five people were then rushed to a local hospital for treatment. A sixth person walked into a hospital a short time later for their injuries as well.

One person was pronounced dead at the scene. According to police, the age and identity of the deceased is unknown at this time.

Of the six initially reported as wounded, IMPD says three are juveniles and three are adults. One of those juveniles later died at the hospital.

Several guns were recovered at the scene of the shooting, and IMPD says officers were able to detain seven people for questioning. It is unclear if they had any involvement or not.

At this time, police have not released information about a suspect or motive.

IMPD Chief Chris Bailey says officers were going on calls all night long trying to prevent this kind of violence.

“This kind of violence downtown or in any of our neighborhoods is completely unacceptable and unnecessary,” said Bailey. “Hundreds of unsupervised kids down here ... I don’t know how many times I have to say it — we are not your children’s keepers! You are! And parents and guardians have got to step up. A kid is dead tonight, and we just don’t know the age of the young man down the street ... still here, dead. I’m tired of it.”

According to Bailey, the original incident officers were responding to about a half a block away from the mass shooting was for a group fighting.

The police chief says he estimates police made approximately 20 arrests over the night, including recovering guns from two kids downtown before the mass shooting happened.

“I’m not sure anymore what it is gonna take for some in our community to wake up,” Bailey said. “I’ve said it! This is where the kids are. This is where they are on Friday and Saturday nights. If you want to engage them, if you want to help them, if you want to prevent some of this violence ... this is where they are.”

Bailey says those wanting to help the youth should come to downtown Indianapolis and see for themselves.

“You can see them being dropped off by their parents — five or six at a time out of the car,” Bailey said. “You can see them jump out of Ubers and Lyfts, and you can see them jumping out of the buses that they ride down.”

Between all the departments, Bailey says there were hundreds of officers in the downtown area.

While he says they will continue to do their jobs, he notes that police alone are not going to be able to solve the larger problem.

“I don’t understand it. I know where my kids are at all times. Maybe I shouldn’t be that way – a 16-year-old daughter – cannot imagine letting her roam around down here tonight like kids were — unattended, unsupervised,” Bailey said.

The police chief says officers will see people with backpacks on backwards and masks on to conceal their identities while downtown.

“They did it right under a camera tonight!” Bailey said. “We’re gonna find out who did it, and we’re gonna hold them accountable.”

Bailey adds he will work with the prosecutor’s office to see if there is a way to hold parents accountable as well.

“I’m gonna seek some kind of accountability to parents,” Bailey said. “There has to be more than just, ‘What are the police doing?’”

Anyone with information on the incident is asked to call Crime Stoppers of Central Indiana at 317-262-8477.