16-year-old charged as adult following shooting on Monument Circle that wounded 3

INDIANAPOLIS — A 16-year-old is now facing felony weapons charges in adult court following a shooting on Monument Circle that left three people wounded and damaged multiple buildings.

Court records included a surveillance picture, taken early Monday morning, that shows a young man holding a large handgun on Monument Circle. Police believe the gunman fired multiple shots.

“It’s unacceptable,” said IMPD deputy chief Tonya Terry. “We won’t tolerate that behavior. We remain laser-focused on people who come downtown and cause trouble and commit crimes.”

While IMPD condemned the reckless behavior this week, they also credited the multiple surveillance cameras on the circle for helping make a quick arrest of the juvenile suspect.

Just a few minutes after the shooting, an IMPD officer holding a picture of the suspect on his phone spotted 16-year-old Terrell Andrews walking away from the circle and took him into custody for a felony charge of dangerous possession of a firearm.

The 16-year-old suspect made his initial hearing in adult court on Thursday and it turns out it’s not the first time the teen has been in trouble with the law.

“I think what needs to happen is true accountability needs to occur. If he’s convicted, he needs to be held accountable for that,” said Indy FOP president Rick Snyder.

Snyder said, regardless of their age, repeat offenders need to be held responsible by the court system.

In this case, court records show Andrews was previously found delinquent in juvenile court for an illegal weapons possession charge filed last year when he was 15 years old.

“The criminal justice system doesn’t hold them accountable. It slaps them on the wrist, puts them back into the community and they laugh and scoff at this fake system of justice we have going. Then they run right back out there with another firearm and then are alleged to commit new crimes,” said Snyder.

So far, the motive for the shooting on the circle remains unclear because the teenage suspect refused to speak to police, despite his father encouraging him to talk.

The suspect is being held on a $6,000 cash bond. That would include GPS monitoring if he’s able to post that amount.