1 killed, 5 wounded in Indianapolis Waffle House shooting
INDIANAPOLIS (WXIN) - Police are investigating after one person was killed and five people were wounded in a shooting at a Waffle House early Monday morning in Indianapolis.
According to the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department, officers were called to the Waffle House for a report of a person shot just after 12:30 a.m.
When police arrived, they found at least five people with injuries consistent with gunshot wounds. One of the victims, an adult woman, died from her injuries at an area hospital. The other victims - three men and a woman - were transported to an area hospital in stable condition, according to police.
Police say a sixth victim, an adult man, arrived at IU Health Methodist Hospital shortly after the shooting and remains in critical condition. That individual either drove himself to the hospital or had someone else drive him, IMPD said.
Police say two groups of people got into an altercation inside and outside the restaurant before the shooting took place.
“What preliminary [information] we have is this was a disturbance which turned into a fight between two groups of people,” said Capt. Don Weilhammer with IMPD. “At least one handgun was recovered on the scene of the Waffle House. Another gun was recovered from the car at Methodist Hospital.”
Investigators noted there were a number of people in the area when the shooting occurred.
“We have had numerous people that stuck around and are acting as witnesses. But we also believe there were several that were either at the Speedway gas station ... or at the Waffle House that left the scene prior to our arrival,” Weilhammer said. “We’re hoping they’ll be willing to come forward and give us information.”
Weilhammer said any information, no matter how insignificant witnesses think it may be, could prove helpful to the investigation. He also voiced frustration that too many people are settling disagreements with violence.
“One thing that I would stress, and we stress this quite often, but it still has not changed: if you have a conflict, use conflict resolution. Most notably, talk about it. If you can’t work things out without resorting to violence, then turn and walk away. Somebody’s life, unfortunately, was lost tonight over this conflict between these two groups. And that’s unnecessary.”
Waffle House released a statement about the shooting:
"We are cooperating fully with the ongoing law enforcement investigation into this incident.
Njeri Boss, VP of public relations for Waffle House
Because the investigation remains active, we are referring all questions to the local law
enforcement agency handling the matter."