IMPD: Juvenile dead, 1 in critical condition after shooting on northeast side of Indianapolis

INDIANAPOLIS — One juvenile is dead and another is in critical condition after a shooting on the northeast side of Indianapolis on Sunday night.

According to the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department, officers were called to the 10000 block of East 42nd Street around 7:09 p.m. to investigate a shooting at a gas station. Not long after police received reports about the gas station shooting, dispatchers fielded additional calls about a shooting in the 10000 block of Ellis Drive.

Police found victims with injuries consistent with gunshot wounds when they arrived at both locations.

Both victims were transported to Riley Hospital in critical condition. IMPD Night Watch Captain Don Weilhammer confirmed that the person pronounced dead was the victim from the Ellis Drive incident.

On Monday, the Marion County Coroner’s Office identified the person who died as 17-year-old Tywon Jones. Jones was found on the front porch of a home near the gas station after he ran from the gas station for help.

The other victim, identified by family as a teen cousin of Jones, remained in critical condition after he was wounded in the gas station’s parking lot.

Weilhammer said at the scene that IMPD believes two parties arrived at the gas station and had a conversation. The conversation reportedly turned into a disturbance, leading to shots fired.

Weilhammer said at this time, there is no connection between this incident and another shooting that occurred on the northeast side of Indianapolis Sunday morning.

According to previous reports, a 19-year-old reportedly left his apartment to visit this same gas station late Sunday morning. The 19-year-old was shot and killed around 10:37 a.m. in the 4100 block of Shady Oak Drive.

Although the fatal shooting at the gas station was caught on camera, IMPD officials said they aren’t yet sure what motivated the violence.

“This is a concern,” said Rev. Charles Harrison.

Harrison’s group, the Indianapolis Ten Point Coalition, has focused on the neighborhood south of 42nd and Mitthoefer, including this specific gas station, since 2020.

While his teams do not patrol on Sunday, Harrison said some neighbors have complained recently about teens hanging out at the gas station.

“Some people feel intimidated by the youngsters because they’ve had guns,” said Harrison. “My team, one night, encountered one of the groups and they wanted us to know they had guns, so one of them flashed a gun.”

IMPD said on Sunday night that surveillance video showed the fatal shooting appeared to start with some sort of verbal dispute in the parking lot. The reason for that fight remains unclear, but reflects a common problem.

“We continually say don’t solve your problem with gun fights,” Weilhammer said.

“Kids that used to fight each other with fists don’t today. So what they’re doing, because so many of them have guns, they’re pulling guns out and having a gun battle,” said Harrison.

Anyone with information about the gas station shooting should call Detective TyAnn Lambert at the IMPD Homicide Office at 317.327.3475 or e-mail the detective at TyAnn.Lambert@indy.gov. 

Alternatively, they can call Crime Stoppers of Central Indiana at 317.262.8477 or (TIPS) to remain anonymous.