NEW ALBANY, Ind. — Four men have been arrested for allegedly murdering a high school football player on homecoming night.
Bryce Gerlach, 18, was shot and killed on Oct. 12, 2024, in New Albany. He was attending Harvest Homecoming. The Corydon High School senior was killed in a shooting that injured two other people.
"What took around 10 seconds of shots being fired has required countless hours of investigation, and each of those hours is worth it," Floyd County Prosecutor Chris Lane said.
Joshua Smith, 20, is facing charges for murder, attempted murder, aggravated battery, attempted aggravated battery, criminal recklessness, obstruction of justice, resisting law enforcement, criminal mischief and conspiracy to commit robbery.
Darius Tuff is also facing charges of murder, attempted murder, aggravated battery, attempted aggravated battery and conspiracy to commit armed robbery.
Two other men have been arrested on preliminary murder charges, but they have not been formally charged.
(NOTE: WTHR does not name suspects who have not been formally charged by prosecutors).
Investigators recovered two groups of casings from the shooting. They determined the casings were fired from two different guns.
According to court documents, Smith was at the shooting and fled the scene in a car that was at the same place the casings were found.
Smith confessed to firing a gun in the air while in the "ride area" and near the car he and two others fled the scene in, the affidavit said.
During an interview, police say Smith admitted to selling the gun he used after the shooting to someone for drugs, but Smith refused to provide a name.
Smith also allegedly told police he knew the person he sold the gun to sold the gun to another person, but he did not know that person's name.
Hours before the shooting, police say Smith texted a woman, saying he had people trying to kill him. Later that night after the shooting, court documents indicate he again texted the woman saying someone shot at him.
The next day, Smith texted the woman, saying that he planned to rob a man he was with at Harvest Homecoming, but then, the shooting happened. According to investigators, Smith accused the man of being the reason his house had been shot at two years ago.
When police later searched his home, they say they found a gun with casings matching the one used in the shooting.
The affidavit says the location where Smith fired his weapon has a direct line of sight to where Gerlach was shot.
A witness identified another suspect as having been at the shooting and fired a shot north toward where two bystanders were shot. The second suspect told officers he was taking cover behind a car in the area and that he drove Smith from the scene on the day of the shooting.
Police determined that it was the second suspect's gun that shot the two bystanders after a search of his and Smith's home.
Both Smith and the second suspect said "Squirrel," later discovered to be Tuff, is their roommate and drove them both to Harvest Homecoming.
A witness saw Tuff fire shots at another man who was jumping the ride fence during the festival.
Prosecutors belief the fourth suspect started the shooting, but prosecutors do not believe he actually hit anyone while firing.
All four suspects are in custody.
In Gerlach's obituary, his family wrote:
"As we struggle to understand or comprehend how this tragedy could have taken place, what we can do is 'Live Like Bryce.' We need to put others before ourselves, spreading joy, a smile and never meeting a stranger. He treated his teammates as if they were his brothers. What an amazing way to honor his memory by treating each other as if we are all brothers and sisters, spreading kindness, a smile and joy."