‘We have to do better’: IMPD searching for suspect after fatal shooting on Indy’s northwest side

INDIANAPOLIS — Indianapolis metro police are searching for a suspect after a shooting left a person dead on the northwest side of Indianapolis Tuesday afternoon.

Officers with the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department responded around 4:11 p.m. to the 5200 block of Austral Drive in response to an incomplete 911 call. The run was later upgraded to a person shot.

IMPD said officers arrived on the scene and found a male victim suffering from confirmed gunshot wounds. The victim was pronounced dead on the scene. IMPD officer Tommy Thompson said detectives are withholding the release of a description of the suspected shooter until more information can be confirmed.

Detectives are continuing to canvass the scene for evidence while speaking with witnesses and reviewing any surveillance footage that may be available.

Thompson said detectives believe the incident may have been a targeted attack on the victim in a wooded area near the residences. The suspect is then believed to have fled on foot as the search to locate them continues.

He called the latest act of violence “senseless” and “stupid.”

“We have victims who are no longer alive. Their families will feel this reeling grieving. And then the other end of the spectrum, we need to think about is the individuals pulling the trigger. We will find you and when we do, we will hold you accountable with the Marion County Prosecutor’s Office and any other agencies we work with to find you, and then you’re gonna have your family is gonna be grieving too,” Thompson said. “So think, if you’re gonna have a firearm, what action you use that firearm for. Is it lawful, or is it unlawful? Because people are getting hurt out here, and it’s senseless and stupid. Chief Baily has talked about it. We’ve got a prosecutor who’s really pissed off about it. This is stupid. People’s lives are being taken away for stupid reasons. We have to do better.”

This follows a violent 24 hours across the Circle City. Earlier on Tuesday, officers were called to N. Concord Street on the near west side to investigate a shooting that left one person dead and another injured. On Monday, two men and a woman were killed in a late-night shooting on Guion Road.

Anyone with information or surveillance video should call IMPD at 317-327-3475 or Crime Stoppers at 317-262-TIPS (8477).