Beech Grove mayor calls for closure of Main Street bar after early double shooting
With evidence markers on the ground and investigators still working the scene, Beech Grove Mayor Dennis Buckley called for the closure of a bar hours after a double shooting in the establishment's parking lot.
“It's just very disturbing,” Buckley said. “This happened in the middle of the night and there's people asleep in their homes within 50 feet of where this happened. How can any society accept that?”
Two men were taken to the hospital in critical condition around 3:15 a.m. Thursday after they were shot multiple times outside The Silver Bullet Sports Bar & Grill, officials said. The bar closes at 3 a.m., according to its Facebook page, but investigators believe an argument inside the business led to the shooting.
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The bar is advertised as the oldest on Main Street in the city and opens daily at 9 a.m., according to a banner on its roof, but remained shuttered as the mayor spoke during a press conference outside.
Scott Coyle, owner of the bar since March of 2021, stood outside his business and watched as the mayor and police chief spoke to reporters Thursday morning. When asked for comment, Coyle said he would work with his attorney to email a statement to reporters.
That statement had not yet been received by IndyStar before publication of this article.
Since the double shooting, Buckley has already reached out to the Alcoholic Beverage Board of Marion County and the board is investigating, the mayor said. Tyler Graves, chairman of the board, did not return a request for comment before this article's publication.
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"It sheds a bad light on the City of Beech Grove,” Buckley said. “Obviously, I'm not very happy about it. I live about a block and a half from here.”
Buckley is calling for the bar to shut down due to what he says is a history of problems at the business.
Police reports show Beech Grove officers were called to the property twice in 2023 before Thursday's shooting. Officers responded to a disturbance with a weapon around 1 a.m. July 20 and an assault at the business in February, according to the reports.
Beech Grove Police Chief Michael Maurice said there was another shooting outside the bar in June 2022. The person who was shot survived, but investigators are still looking for a suspect, he said.
In February, IndyStar published an investigation into violence at Indianapolis bars and nightclubs, and the authorities responsible for monitoring the businesses. The investigation identified more than 600 reports of violent acts tied to Indianapolis bars, clubs and event centers since 2016.
Thursday's double shooting in Beech Grove
Officers found the two men with gunshot injuries inside a minivan in the parking lot of the bar before they were both rushed in critical condition to nearby hospitals, Maurice said.
"We don't have a whole lot of details for what we are looking for because we don't have any witnesses to help us identify who it was or what it was even about,” Maurice said.
Investigators believe the two men shot and the suspect or suspects in the shooting were patrons in the bar before the shooting. Maurice called for witnesses to come forward and assist with the investigation.
“There are multiple victims here and not just the ones who were shot, but the ones who live in this community," Maurice said. “It's frustrating and we want these people to be held accountable.”
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Contact Jake Allen at jake.allen@indystar.com. Follow him on Twitter @Jake_Allen19.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Beech Grove shooting: Mayor calls for closure of bar after 2 men hurt
