What should have been a night of celebration turned into a scene of chaos and tragedy in downtown Indianapolis early Sunday morning. Following the city’s Fourth of July fireworks display, gunfire erupted near Washington and Illinois Streets, leaving two dead, five others wounded, and a city shaken.
At a press briefing, Deputy Chief of Operations Tanya Terry of the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department (IMPD) outlined the timeline of the violent incident. According to Terry, around 1:27 a.m., officers were responding to a disturbance at Washington and Meridian Streets when they were alerted to another disturbance just down the street. As they approached the second scene, shots were fired. Officers and medics immediately rendered aid to multiple victims.
In total, five victims were transported to area hospitals, a sixth was pronounced dead at the scene, and a seventh walked into a local hospital later, Terry stated. Three of the victims are juveniles, and three are adults. The identity of the deceased remains unknown at this time, but the victim who later died at the hospital was a juvenile.
Several firearms were recovered at the scene, though investigators have not yet determined whether those weapons were involved in the shooting. Approximately seven individuals were detained for questioning, she said.
“Unacceptable. Unnecessary.”
IMPD Chief Chris Bailey took the podium next and delivered an unfiltered assessment of the night’s events—and the broader crisis facing Indianapolis.
“This kind of violence—whether downtown or in any of our neighborhoods—is completely unacceptable. And unnecessary,” Bailey said, visibly frustrated.
Chief Bailey painted a stark picture: thousands had come downtown to enjoy the fireworks, but hundreds of unsupervised minors roamed the streets long after the celebration ended. Many were involved in disturbances and fights, and some were found with firearms.
“We made around 20 arrests tonight,” Bailey confirmed. “We recovered guns—one of them an assault rifle—from kids. A kid is dead tonight. This is not normal. This is not okay.”
A Call to Parents: “We Are Not Your Children’s Keepers”
Bailey repeatedly emphasized that IMPD cannot solve this issue alone. He called out the lack of parental involvement, noting that many minors were dropped off downtown by parents or arrived unsupervised by public transit or rideshare services.
“I don’t know how many times I have to say it—we are not your children’s keepers. You are,” he said bluntly. “It’s not our job to babysit your kids downtown at 1:30 in the morning.”
The chief recounted disturbing moments—such as officers preventing two underage girls from entering a stranger’s vehicle after they missed their bus ride home.
Some of these victims may not have even been part of the disturbance. They could’ve been here for the fireworks, eating ice cream, and got caught in the crossfire, Bailey said. “But nothing good happens after midnight, and these kids should not have been out here.”
“We Will Use Every Tool We Have”
IMPD has pledged to continue using technology—including surveillance cameras and digital forensics—to identify and hold accountable those responsible.
“They did it right under a camera tonight,” Bailey said. Like the Canal shooting and the incident at 30 South Meridian Street, we used tech to make arrests then, and we’ll do it again, he promised.
Bailey also hinted at a potential push for parental accountability.
If I can convince the prosecutor to hold parents accountable, I’m going to do that, too, he added. We have to stop asking only what the police are doing, he emphasized.
Officers ran toward the gunfire, Bailey said. They did their job. Now, it’s time for the rest of the community to do theirs, he added.
Indianapolis at a Crossroads
This is the second weekend in a row that downtown Indianapolis has seen large-scale disturbances involving minors. Bailey said it has “been going on for years,” but added that the number of youths now carrying guns is a disturbing escalation.
These kids weren’t down here for bars or restaurants or the fireworks. They were loitering. Shooting fireworks off from the tops of parking garages, looking for trouble, he said. We have to wake up, Bailey went on to say.
As the investigation continues, IMPD has committed to releasing more details in the coming days, including arrests made, the nature of the charges, and photos of recovered firearms.
But for now, the takeaways are clear.