Business, 83-year-old man struck by pellets in Irvington neighborhood

Morgan Womack, Indianapolis Star
Updated ·3 min read

Update: A juvenile has been arrested on suspicions of criminal recklessness and criminal recklessness and battery with injury following another injury at Aldi. Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Lt. Shane Foley said the juvenile will be investigated for other incidents as well.

John Ridge, 83, took about five steps toward his car after walking out of Aldi on Monday afternoon before feeling a sudden shock on the left side of his neck.

John Ridge, 83, sits in the waiting room before receiving care for a pointed pellet wound. While the pellet was lodged in his neck, it only left a small red mark.
John Ridge, 83, sits in the waiting room before receiving care for a pointed pellet wound. While the pellet was lodged in his neck, it only left a small red mark.

"It felt like a golf ball had just slammed into me," Ridge said. He said the jolt felt similar to being shot in the shoulder while serving in Vietnam for the U.S. Army 55 years ago.

The object left only a small red mark, but he started to feel woozy. After sitting on a bench for a few minutes, he drove a little over a mile home and went with his family to get an X-ray at urgent care.

He said the doctor found a pellet lodged into his neck, close to — but luckily a safe distance from — a carotid artery: a major vessel that provides blood supply to the brain.

An x-ray of John Ridge, 83, that shows a pointed pellet lodged in his neck. The pellet landed close to, but luckily a safe distance from, a carotid artery: a vessel that provides the brain with blood.
An x-ray of John Ridge, 83, that shows a pointed pellet lodged in his neck. The pellet landed close to, but luckily a safe distance from, a carotid artery: a vessel that provides the brain with blood.

This isn't the only pellet-related incident at this Aldi, located in Irvington on the east side of Indianapolis. Police reports show another person was injured Monday evening, and the store's assistant manager said there was damage to the property at 6691 E. Washington St. that she thinks came from a pellet gun.

Windows at Aldi's entrance and exit were broken around 10:30 p.m. Friday night, assistant manager Diana Hodges said, and one of them had a pellet-shaped hole. On Tuesday the windows were boarded up.

Hodges said there's no way to tell who did the damage. She said the store alerted the district manager and Aldi corporate of the issue and requested enhanced security.

A window in the entrance of the Irvington Aldi is boarded up on June 6, 2023.
A window in the entrance of the Irvington Aldi is boarded up on June 6, 2023.

Hodges said police told store representatives they plan to patrol more in the area. In the meantime, she said she was nervous to come to work. IndyStar has reached to Aldi's corporate office via email but did not receive a response at time of publication.

"I don't feel comfortable," Hodges said. "There's literally nothing out here at 5:30 in the morning."

Dan Stephenson, 69, was also slightly injured after shopping with his husband Monday afternoon. He was grazed in the side from a pellet, he said, which caused a small bruise.

He said although he wasn't badly injured, it was disturbing.

"Although it was just a pellet, (I thought) 'what happens if this person decides they're not getting enough reaction out of a pellet gun and moves on?'" Stephenson said.

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A juvenile was arrested on suspicion of criminal recklessness and battery with injury on June 8 after another reported injury, Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department Lt. Shane Foley said. Foley said the juvenile will be investigated for other incidents as well.

Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department East District Capt. Joe Finch recommends if anyone is unexpectedly injured by a pellet gun or notices damage to their property, they should report it to the department.

As for Ridge, he alerted Aldi about the incident and sought medical help. The doctor told him that the tissues in his neck should stabilize the metal pellet and it's not necessary to remove it right now.

"All that means, I guess, is that I get strip-searched every time I go through a TSA line at the airport," Ridge joked.

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This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Indianapolis pellet gun incidents: Man hurt, business damaged