INDIANAPOLIS — The Marion County Prosecutor's Office and IMPD announced an arrest and charges in connection to a triple fatal shooting in Broad Ripple this summer.
Police arrested 24-year-old Kara Hinds for her alleged role in the incident. The Marion County Prosecutor's Office charged her with the following:
- Two counts of murder
- One count of reckless homicide
- One count of battery by means of a deadly weapon
- One count of battery resulting in serious bodily injury
- One count of criminal recklessness
On June 25, IMPD officers were already in Broad Ripple when they heard gunshots around 2:30 a.m. They rushed to the 800 block of Broad Ripple Avenue, near Carrollton Avenue, where they found four people who had been shot.
The Marion County Coroner's Office identified the three people who were killed:
- Tywain Henning, 24
- Kaleyia Preer, 22
- Christopher Lee Wilson Jr., 19.
Police said a 21-year-old woman who was shot was taken to a hospital and expected to recover.
According to court documents, an officer had broken up a disturbance an hour before the shootings that involved a large group of people – including the four that were later shot.
"There were dozens of police there they could have sought help from and say, 'Hey, I just got punched. Can you help me identify the suspect?' That didn't happen. They chose to engage with the group with a gun, and that's a problem," IMPD Deputy Chief Kendale Adams said.
Police were able to collect video of a fight from social media accounts and video during the time of the shootings from business surveillance systems in the area.
Tips to IMPD led them to identify a person of interest, who they were then able to identify on surveillance video.
That person of interest was seen carrying food containers prior to the shooting (food containers were later found at the scene of the shooting). The person of interest was also later seen in surveillance video running from the area and pointing a gun back at the area where the victims were shot.
Tips led police to Hinds' Facebook page. Police then got DNA results from a hat found at the shooting scene that came back as matching Hinds.
On Sept. 28, police tracked Hinds to an apartment complex and detained her. A gun was also found during the search of the apartment that matched the caliber of the one used in the shooting.
According to court documents, while being questioned, Hinds initially denied being in Broad Ripple at the time of the shooting and then said she was.
"Several hours of video was needed to be researched, and those videos, along with bodycam, played a critical role in helping us identify Ms. Hinds as the suspect," Adams said.
Hinds allegedly told investigators she was punched in the back of the head before the shooting and might have dropped her hat and food then. Moments later, she claims she heard shots and ran.
Later, police claim Hinds said she wanted to keep the caliber of the gun and how many times she fired it to herself. Hinds told investigators she was unsure if anyone was firing back at her, according to the court documents.
The gun found during the search of Hinds apartment also matched bullets from the scene, according to investigators referencing forensic examination.
Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett discussed making Broad Ripple a "gun free zone" after the shootings.
"We see it far too often in our community where these senseless acts turn into senseless violence, and I think a lot of people in our community are tired of seeing these types of incidents occur," Marion County Prosecutor Ryan Mears said.
For a short time, businesses also closed at 1 a.m. to try and curb the violence.