Broad Ripple Village seeks gun-free zone designation for weekends after deadly shooting

Broad Ripple Village Association leadership is requesting a gun-free zone for Friday and Saturday nights through Aug. 31.

Board member Kip Tew announced the request Sunday at a news conference after a deadly shooting hours earlier while hundreds of people were in the entertainment district.

"We grieve those lost and injured; it is unimaginable and horrific that this has happened," said Kendale Adams, deputy chief with the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department.

As Mayor Joe Hogsett expressed frustration with state legislation that has prevented Indianapolis from banning guns in entertainment districts, police shared an early look of how gun-free zone enforcement would work and reiterated extra protection measures they've implemented so far.

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What we know about Sunday's shooting

Shortly after 2 a.m. Sunday, police reported finding four people in their early to mid-20s with gunshot wounds in the 800 block of Broad Ripple Avenue near Guilford Avenue. A man and woman were pronounced dead at the scene, and another man and woman were taken to hospitals in serious condition, according to a news release. The other man died at the hospital, IMPD announced Sunday evening.

A disturbance likely preceded the shooting.

At the late-morning news conference, Adams said police did not have information on the victims' plans that evening.

Two firearms were collected at the scene, Adams said. Detectives believe one or more people may be involved but need more information to confirm. They are requesting surveillance footage from the area and that witnesses contact Crime Stoppers of Central Indiana at 317-262-8477 and homicide detective James Hurt at 317-327-3475 or James.Hurt@indy.gov.

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Measures police have taken so far to stem violence in Broad Ripple

Seeing 400 to 500 people gather around the main Broad Ripple strip is not unusual, said Chris Bailey, assistant chief of police, on Sunday.

"You have a lot of people who don't go into bars. They are literally just hanging out," Adams said. "That continues to be a problem because then you mix alcohol and you mix personal conflict, and it really becomes a challenge to try to police that with several hundred people."

People are walking around with handguns while drinking in the streets and on sidewalks in Broad Ripple, Bailey said.

"None of those things are illegal," he said.

Broad Ripple has seen an increased police presence so far because of complaints from businesses and the Broad Ripple Village Association, Hogsett said. Other measures include officers working overtime, being employed by certain establishments, nuisance abatement and working with private parking lot owners, police said.

Police also are working with troubled establishments, Adams said. He declined to identify the businesses, citing ongoing efforts to reach agreements, and noted that some around the city have improved. Hogsett said business owners who are acting irresponsibly will be held to account.

The mayor said he respected the Second Amendment but decried what he called the state's "weak gun laws," and specifically permitless carry.

"If I had the ability to keep guns off of Broad Ripple Avenue on Friday and Saturday nights, I would do it right now," Hogsett said. "But our state legislature has seen fit to ensure that I do not have the authority to do that."

How gun-free zone enforcement will work

The city can't unilaterally say that Broad Ripple is gun free, said Matt Giffin, corporation counsel for the city of Indianapolis.

"There's a carve-out in state law that says when private organizations are hosting or promoting events on public property ... that they can make and enforce their own rules," Giffin said.

Hogsett announced the city's intention to help enforce gun-free zone requests in late May, and he said the city has encouraged civic, neighborhood and private organizations that host crowded events to do so.

Groups like the Broad Ripple Village Association hoping to host an event at a public place could request a gun-free zone via the city's permitting process. The city would then help with enforcement, which includes containing the area and using advanced screening technology.

The exact details of the Broad Ripple enforcement, which would begin next weekend if the permit is approved, are yet to be announced, Bailey said.

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When asked if a gun-free zone would have prevented Sunday's shooting, Hogsett referenced last weekend's major music festival.

"A gun-free zone, if implemented appropriately, would have the same effect in Broad Ripple that it did just a week ago in Garfield Park for the WonderRoad Music Festival."

Call the reporter at 317-444-7339.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Indianapolis crime: Broad Ripple goes gun-free after deadly shooting