Police arrest and charge suspect in downtown shooting on Little 500 weekend
A Bloomington man faces charges of attempted murder and carrying a handgun without a license in connection with Little 500 weekend shooting of a 26-year-old man in downtown Bloomington.
Michael V. Carson Jr., 33, of Bloomington, was arrested at the Bloomington Police Department Thursday, then booked into the Monroe County Jail at 7:05 p.m. He is being held in lieu of bond.
According to a Bloomington Police Department news release, investigators found a .40-caliber shell casing near the rear kitchen door of a restaurant south of the parking lot at Sixth and Lincoln streets where the victim was found in the front seat of a car.
"Video surveillance from nearby security cameras was showed a verbal altercation between two groups of individuals near the rear of the restaurant just prior to the shooting," the news release said.
After interviewing the people, police found out the shouting turned physical and a fight broke out beyond camera view.
Witnesses identified Carson as the person who pulled out a gun and fired it one time before fleeing.
A detective called Carson May 26 and asked him to come to the police station to be interviewed.
The shooting happened within half an hour of an incident at the Kalao Restaurant and Nightclub at 320 N. Walnut St. where three men were shot inside the rum bar. Investigators initially suspected the incidents might be related, but determined they were not.
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On May 2, Bloomington police officers arrested Keiantrea Washington, 27, of Bloomington. He faces charges of attempted murder, aggravated battery and criminal recklessness for allegedly firing a handgun into the crowded bar at 1 a.m. April 23. Bullets struck three people.
Washington was released after posting $10,500 in cash for his bond. A jury trial is scheduled for Oct. 3, according to court records.
The morning of the Kalao shootings, officers at the scene responded to another 911 call about a man who had been shot in a parking lot near the Sixth and Lincoln street intersection.
Carson is charged with this shooting.
Officers found a 26-year-old man with a gunshot wound to his abdomen in the front passenger seat of a vehicle. He was taken to IU Health Bloomington Hospital, where he was in critical condition for days. On May 16, he was transferred by helicopter to an Indianapolis hospital.
"It is believed that this shooting occurred near the alleyway that runs east and west, between Kirkwood Avenue and Sixth Street," a police news release from that day said. "The victim in this shooting was rushed to emergency surgery once at the hospital. Investigators continue to search for witnesses and are attempting to review surveillance footage from nearby cameras."
Downtown Bloomington was crowded with Little 500 revelers when the shootings happened. While the event draws thousands of young people to the city for what's often called the "World's Greatest College Weekend," both men arrested in the shootings, and the victims, are Bloomington residents.
Contact reporter Laura Lane at llane@heraldt.com, 812-331-4362 or 812-318-5967.
This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: Man charged with attempted murder in Little 500 weekend shooting
