INDIANAPOLIS — This weekend, downtown Indianapolis was flooded with police lights and crime scene tape.
The first incident happened early Saturday morning. Police say a gun battle between people in two vehicles killed a man and injured a woman around 3 a.m. in the 900 block of Indiana Avenue, near the IU Indianapolis campus.
"We just feel for the family that's grieving a lost loved one and the other victim, and what that person's going through," IMPD Ofc. Tommy Thompson said. "It's tragic and shouldn't happen to anyone in this city."
Right now, it's still unclear how many people were involved in that shooting. But almost 24 hours later, police found a man dead with traumatic injuries near the intersection of Illinois and Georgia streets.
This is the same place where seven teenagers were injured in a mass shooting in March. But IMPD says crime in the downtown district is down.
"It's one of the safest, if not the safest, in the nation for large cities, and we stand by that," Thompson said.
According to recent data, there have been 19 nonfatal shootings downtown this year. While overall crime is down, homicides are up with five, compared to three last year.
So what has helped keep these numbers low? Police say they've used more cameras, bike and foot patrols, and partnered with other agencies throughout the district.
"We work very hard at ensuring we remove that small amount and those individuals responsible for that criminal activity from our community," Thompson said.
Police are still looking for witnesses in these weekend's cases. They urge anyone with information to reach out to them at 317-327-3475 or Crime Stoppers of Central Indiana at 317-262-8477.