At least two people were killed and five others were injured when gunfire erupted early Sunday in the parking lot of a shopping center in northwest Indianapolis, authorities said.
The mass shooting unfolded just after 2 a.m. at a shopping center on Shore Terrace, according to a statement from the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department.
No arrests have been announced.
Officers went to the shopping center after receiving a report of a person who was shot there, according to police.
“Officers arrived and located five victims who all sustained injuries consistent with gunshot wounds,” according to the police statement.
Two of the victims were pronounced dead at the scene, and three were taken to area hospitals, police said.
Another victim suffering from a gunshot wound showed up at a hospital on their own and a seventh gunshot victim went to a nearby fire department, according to police.
A motive for the shooting remained under investigation.
“Further investigation revealed that before the shooting, a disturbance had occurred,” according to the police statement, which did not provide further details on the disturbance.
Police asked that anyone with information about the shooting contact investigators immediately. A $1,000 reward is being offered for information leading to a felony arrest in the case, police said.
The names of the victims killed in the incident are being withheld by police pending notification of their relatives, authorities said.
The shooting occurred just hours after two police officers came under fire in a separate incident in northwest Indianapolis involving an armed man allegedly threatening employees at a McDonald’s restaurant, according to police. The officers were called to the McDonald’s around 6:30 p.m. on Saturday after getting a “report of a disturbance with a person armed with a weapon,” according to a police statement.
When officers arrived, a McDonald’s employee pointed out a 34-year-old man still inside the restaurant, whom she alleged “threatened to kill her and was armed with a gun,” according to the statement. When the officers confronted the suspect, a struggle ensued, police said.
At least one of the officers returned fire but did not hit the suspect, whose name was not immediately released, police said. Officers chased the suspect out of the restaurant and captured him nearby, according to police.
“During one of these incidents, two of our officers were attacked while responding to a disturbance involving a man with a gun, and a shot was fired in their direction,” Indianapolis Police Chief Chris Berry said in a statement. “Their quick, decisive action and their training brought the situation to a safe resolution.”Berry added, “We understand how nights like this can shake our sense of safety, but the IMPD remains fully engaged and continues to do our part to keep our neighborhoods safe.”
