Teen best friends slain in Butler Tarkington double killing

INDIANAPOLIS — Two nineteen-year-olds, best friends and graduates of Arsenal Tech High School, were found shot to death at the corner of 43^rd Street and Cornelius Avenue at 8 p.m. Sunday by a neighbor out taking a walk.

One resident told FOX59/CBS4 he was awakened by the sound of gunfire several hours earlier.

”From about 2-4 a.m. I heard about three to six gunshots and then a car speed up,” said Dominic Appleton. “I heard the car sound get closer to my house and then farther away. Judging from the bodies, the car came this way, heading west, I think.”

Neighbors say a resident had complained to IMPD in the hours before the shooting of a loud party in the 4200 block of Cornelius, leading investigators to examine a potential connection between the gathering and the killings of the two men.

“I noticed a lot of doorbell cameras around here, so if anybody captured anything around here during the night,” said Sgt. William Young, “If you review those and you see something that doesn’t sit well with you, see any suspicious people in this neighborhood that you never saw before, we are asking you to come forth with any information.”

Information shared with Crime Stoppers at 317-262-TIPS can be worth a $1,000 reward.

Neighbors said they aren’t accustomed to gunfire and violence five blocks north of West 38^th Street.

” It’s definitely the first time anything like this has ever happened. We’re new to the area, but we’ve never had any problems. It’s heartbreaking and sad and definitely I think the whole neighborhood is shocked,” said Sarah Appleton. ”It might cause me to think twice when I’m out and what I’m doing, double-checking safety and locks and alarms.”