Gunfire erupted early Sunday in the parking lot of a shopping center in northwest Indianapolis, killing at least two people and injuring five others, according to authorities.
The mass shooting occurred shortly after 2 a.m. at a shopping center on Shore Terrace, according to an Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department statement.
There have been no arrests announced.
According to police, officers responded to a report of a person being shot at the shopping center.
“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, while three were transported to nearby hospitals, according to police.
According to police, another victim with a gunshot wound arrived at a hospital on their own, while a seventh victim went to a nearby fire department.
The motive for the shooting was still being investigated.
“Further investigation revealed that before the shooting, a disturbance had occurred,” according to the police statement, which did not go into detail about the disturbance.
Police asked anyone with information about the shooting to contact investigators right away. Police are offering a $1,000 reward for information that leads to a felony arrest in the case.
Police are withholding the names of the victims killed in the incident until their relatives are notified, authorities said.
The shooting came just hours after two police officers were shot in a separate incident in northwest Indianapolis involving an armed man who allegedly threatened employees at a McDonald’s restaurant, according to police. The officers were dispatched to the McDonald’s around 6:30 p.m. on Saturday after receiving 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 inside the restaurant who she claimed “threatened to kill her and was armed with a gun,” according to the statement. When officers confronted the suspect, a struggle broke out, according to police.
Police said at least one officer returned fire but did not hit the suspect, whose name was not immediately released. Officers chased the suspect out of the restaurant and apprehended 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 stated. “Their quick, decisive action and their training brought the situation to a safe resolution.” Berry went on: “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.”
